Wizard on the Courts
by Mrs.InsaneOne
Summary: A botched ritual, a crippling battle, and a misdiagnosis see Harry expelled from Hogwarts and banished back to his aunt's house where he is quickly pawned off on an old friend of his aunt's and shipped out of England just six months later. AU, pairings to be revealed later, warnings inside.
1. A Trying First Day

**Full Summary:** _Dumbledore placed a trap within a trap when he brought an alchemic stone to Hogwarts for safe keeping in Harry's first year. When the traps are sprung by their intended target, there were unintended consequences as he never intended for young Harry to get caught in the trap. A botched ritual, a crippling battle, and a misdiagnosis see Harry expelled from Hogwarts and banished back to his aunt's house where he is quickly pawned off on an old friend of his aunt's and shipped out of England just six months later. AU, pairings to be revealed later, warnings inside_

**Disclaimer:** _I used to write out a very specific disclaimer explaining exactly what it is I don't own but I find myself not really interested in doing so as it is very tedious. Suffice it to say I own nothing that was created by anyone else and I am making no money whatsoever from the writing of this FanFiction._

**Warnings:** _Mild to moderate violence, character death, foul language, alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon from both worlds goodbye), angst, drama, and who knows what else. _

**AN1:** _Horcruxes; in this story, there are no horcruxes. Instead, Voldemort will have used other means to escape death, Harry's scar contains remnants of the Killing Curse that struck him and not a piece of Riddle's soul, and Voldemort's survival of the incident where he was hit with the backlash of dark magic was a one-time deal. There will also be no such thing as a valid prophecy and the reasoning behind that will be explored within the story._

_Additionally, the timeline for Prince of Tennis has been shifted roughly fifteen years backwards in order to line it up with the HP timeline. So basically, instead of Ryoma being born in 1995, he was born in 1980 (same as Harry). However, I did keep the technological advances and an assortment of pop culture from the series the same (so please don't tell what did and did not exist in 1993; I am well aware of that information – seeing as how I was born in the seventies – and I disregarded it completely for the sake of the plot). _

_Next, you can throw out most of what you know as HP canon from the end of first year (or book 1) on. There will be bits and pieces that I will keep but for the most part, I've changed the story of Harry Potter as you know it in order to create something a bit different than the usual since so many people have rehashed canon far too many times (myself included). The relevant changes that I made in addition to the stray bits I left the same will be touched upon throughout the story, so most questions you might have about what has been changed will be answered within the story. Changes will also be made to PoT canon but those will be apparent within the story as Harry's presence will have an effect on those around him._

_Finally, please keep in mind that this story is labeled as an AU (__**A**__lternate __**U**__niverse) for a reason. If that kind of thing doesn't float your boat, then I would suggest you close out this window and look elsewhere for entertainment._

**AN2:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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**Wizard on the Courts  
**Chapter One: A Trying First Day

_Monday, March 29, 1993, Early Morning  
Echizen Household, Tokyo, Japan_

Twelve year old Harry Potter turned off the water before he stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel to dry off. As he toweled off his hair, he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror and froze in place. His breath hitched a split second later as his eye zeroed in on the scars he'd received at the end of his first and only year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It had been just over six months since he'd received both scars but the sight of them still caught him off guard each time he looked in the mirror.

Unconsciously, he reached up to lightly trace over the ridged grove that ran from what used to be a lightning bolt scar down through his ruined right eye before cutting sharply to the side to form a line that ran from just below his eye to the base of his right ear. His fingers then dropped down to dance across the raised scar on his neck that ran over his jugular. Memories from the night he received the scars flashed through his mind. The same memories that used to haunt him every single time he closed his eyes until the day he'd boarded the plane to Japan just two weeks earlier.

_Professor McGonagall dismissing their concerns over the stone…_

_Ron taking a blow to the head from a giant chess piece… _

_Hermione falling unconscious after drinking one of Snape's potions…_

_Finding Quirrell in the final room instead of Snape…_

_Getting the Philosopher's Stone from the Mirror of Erised when he had been forced to stand before it…_

_Voldemort's face on the back of Quirrell's head…_

_Being knocked unconscious by a red light…_

_Waking up in the Chamber of Secrets naked; his hands and ankles bound tightly…_

_Quirrell dragging him over to a large silver cauldron and seeing torchlight dance on the Philosopher's Stone inside…_

_The searing pain of a knife slicing through his throat and his blood pouring over the Stone inside of the cauldron and welling up in the back of his throat…_

_Quirrell screaming in pain when his hand was splashed by Harry's blood; the smell of burning flesh filling his nose while his own blood choked him…_

_The Philosopher's Stone exploding in his face and throwing him into Quirrell…_

_The shards of the Stone burning as they embedded themselves in his skin…_

_Quirrell grappling with him and his skin smoking and crumbling wherever Harry's flesh and blood came into contact with his bare skin…_

_Voldemort's angry shade coalescing into a black cloud and calling upon an ancient basilisk…_

_A phoenix bursting into the Chamber and blinding the basilisk…_

_The phoenix crying tears on Harry's neck before ripping the bindings from his hands and feet…_

_The basilisk tracking Harry through the scent of blood that clung to him…_

_The basilisk's fang ripping through his face and eye when he couldn't quite dodge its attack…_

_The basilisk dying as green light burst from Harry's scar the instant its fang had ripped into it…_

_The basilisk's venom setting his right eye and half of his face on fire…_

_The phoenix pecking at his hands until he moved them from his face so it could cry on the wound he'd received from the basilisk…_

_Voldemort trying and failing to possess him in a fit of anger over the basilisk's death…_

_Voldemort's shade shattering into millions of pieces as his spirit was ejected from Harry's body in an outburst of uncontrolled magic…_

_Fire surrounding him when the phoenix flashed him to the hospital wing right as he passed out…_

_Madam Pomfrey telling him that magic could not repair his ruined eye or his damaged larynx once he regained consciousness…_

_Madam Pomfrey's eyes filled with pity as she told him that he had been 'squibbed' by the failed ritual…_

_Headmaster Dumbledore telling him that he was being expelled from Hogwarts because he no longer had any magic…_

_Headmaster Dumbledore snapping his wand in half and confiscating anything magical in nature; including his school books, his broom, and Hedwig…_

The loud sound of knuckles meeting wood cut through Harry's memory induced trance and he nearly jumped out of his skin as he abruptly returned to reality; he was no longer in Hogwarts. His Aunt Petunia had taken one look at him after Dumbledore had returned him to Privet Drive less than an hour after snapping his wand and immediately made arrangements to ship him off to Japan. He'd then been forced through six months of remedial education and Japanese lessons while he waited for his passport and educational visa to be processed.

Heart pounding, Harry tore his eye from the mirror and whipped around to stare wide-eyed at the bathroom door as whoever was on the other side knocked a second time before a woman's voice floated through the door, "Hari-kun, breakfast is ready."

Harry opened his mouth to reply out of habit only to snap his mouth shut a heartbeat later when no sound passed through his lips. Pressing his lips tightly together, Harry hurriedly finished drying off and pulled on a black turtle neck before he dressed in the black slacks, white dress shirt, and black jacket that made up the uniform of the Japanese school he'd been enrolled in upon his arrival. The young wizard turned squib felt decidedly awkward in the form fitting gakuran; he was far more used to wearing his cousin's old castoffs or the loose robes worn by Hogwarts' students.

With a grimace and a final tug at the neck of his uniform, Harry gathered up the clothes he'd slept in and slipped out of the bathroom. He ducked into the bedroom he'd been given for the duration of his stay in Japan and dumped his rumpled sleep clothes on the bed before he strapped an eye patch over his useless right eye, slipped on his glasses and a clean pair of socks, grabbed his book bag, and ran his fingers through his still damp hair as he left the room. Just outside the sliding door, he nearly ran into his host's twelve year old son, Echizen Ryoma.

Ryoma was five months younger and two inches taller than Harry, had green-tinted black hair that was nearly as messy as Harry's, and brown eyes. He was currently wearing the same exact uniform as Harry and had a tennis bag hanging off his left shoulder. Harry automatically ducked his head to hide his scars and quickly stepped back into the guest room behind him to avoid coming into contact with the other boy. Ryoma blinked at him and offered a murmured apology before he continued on his way down the hall.

Harry waited a full minute before he silently followed after the other boy. He still felt very uncomfortable and out of place in the Echizen household and as a result he did his best to stay out of the way of all four members of the small family. It wasn't that they were mean or that he didn't like them; he just felt like the outsider he was. Part of that was due to the fact that he wasn't really allowed to help out around the house. The rest of it was because he'd developed a deep aversion to attention and physical contact since the incident with the Philosopher's Stone.

He had never been overly fond of being the center of attention and he'd always been a little uncomfortable with people touching him or even just invading his personal space but his mild dislike had morphed into a near phobia after his encounter with Quirrell and Voldemort. He especially didn't like people touching his hair because the feel of another's fingers catching on the tangled locks always triggered a flashback of his throat being slit. Part of him also feared that his touch would cause another to burn to death like Quirrell.

Harry forced his thoughts back on the present as he set his book bag down beside Ryoma's tennis bag near the front door before he stepped into the kitchen. As he stepped through the door, he swept his gaze over the room; his eye passing over Ryoma to briefly land on Meino Nanako (Ryoma's twenty year old cousin) who was sitting directly across from the other pre-teen. Nanako had long, dark hair with a blue tint to it, dark purple eyes, always wore a friendly smile, and favored wearing sweaters and skirts.

Harry tended to avoid Nanako the most after seeing her mother Ryoma a few times; he didn't feel comfortable with the mere idea of her even trying to fuss over him.

His gaze then landed on Echizen Nanjiro, Ryoma's father, where the man was seated in the open sliding door that led out onto the porch that wrapped around the house. The man had short, messy black-brown hair, the same brown eyes as his son, a light tan, and wore a rumpled black monk's uniform. Mr. Echizen reminded Harry a bit of Fred and George Weasley due to his carefree and playful nature. He was also a certified pervert and shameless flirt from what Harry had observed. The green-eyed boy was just thankful that the man's teasing was usually directed at his son and not at him.

Moving on, Harry's eye finally landed on Echizen Rinko (Nanjiro's wife, Ryoma's mother, Aunt Petunia's old friend, and the reason why he was here in Japan). She had shoulder length, reddish-brown hair, dark brown eyes with a slight red tint to them, and a very warm personality. Harry knew she was an attorney and that she used to play tennis with his aunt when they were younger. He also knew that she was a rather forceful woman despite her friendly nature; she'd been the one to put her foot down and forbid Harry from doing any chores around the house because he was a guest.

Mrs. Echizen was the member of the Echizen family that Harry had spent the most time around since he had arrived. She had been the one that had picked him up from the airport two weeks earlier. She had then taken him out shopping for clothes and other necessities the moment she had seen how little he had brought with him. She had even taken him over to Seishun Gakuen to register him for school and sit his entrance exam. And she had taken him to the local hospital for a complete physical and medical check up. Harry sometimes wondered how such a warm and friendly woman had become friends with his rather strict and impatient aunt.

"Ah, there you are, Hari-kun; come sit down and eat your breakfast before it gets too cold," Mrs. Echizen instructed as she turned away from the stove and noticed Harry hovering in the door way.

Harry nodded in response and shuffled towards the table to slide into the seat beside Ryoma where a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast had already been set alongside a glass of orange juice. He then awkwardly pressed his palms together and mouthed a silent 'itadakimasu' (a custom he'd been taught by Rinko shortly after he arrived) before he picked up the pair of chopsticks beside his plate and began to eat. A short while later, as he took his final bite, Harry felt rather proud of the fact that he hadn't dropped or spilled any of his food for once; he'd never held or used a pair of chopsticks prior to his arrival in Japan and it his earlier attempts had been both frustrating and messy.

Breakfast finished, Harry quickly washed his hands and face and collected the boxed lunch that Mrs. Echizen had made for him before hurrying to the front door to put on his shoes and grab his book bag so he could head to school. Ryoma was already ready and waiting for him just outside of the front door and Harry felt more than a little guilty for making the boy wait for him. The green-eyed boy was still not used to people who were considerate enough to wait for him despite his occasional exposure to such behavior during his single year at Hogwarts. He'd grown far too used to either hurrying up and waiting for others or being hustled along with sharp words.

It wasn't that the Dursleys had been abusive towards him, they hadn't. They just hadn't liked him very much and they hadn't really wanted him around. The fact that they had had no choice in the matter (something he'd only learned after his aunt had made arrangements for him to come to Japan) had only made them more resentful of his presence. The result was that they tended to be very strict with him when they weren't ignoring or neglecting him. His aunt had not apologized for the way he'd been treated growing up but she had explained to him in great detail why she had kept him at a distance all those years.

And it wasn't because she was jealous of her sister's magic, though there was no question that she had envied her sister.

Aunt Petunia had known from the moment Harry had been dumped on their porch step that the magical world would one day return to claim him and she hadn't wanted to grow close to him only to lose him to the wizarding world in the same way she'd lost her sister. His sporadic bouts of accidental magic had only thrown that knowledge back in her face each time they occurred. She had been angry when he'd been brought home by Dumbledore before the end of the term. Not angry with him but angry with the bearded wizard the moment he'd opened his mouth and informed her that Harry had been expelled due to having his magic stripped from him.

He still recalled the words his aunt had spat at the headmaster that day…

"_This… this is why my husband and I fought so hard to keep him from you people. You took him and used him and now you're throwing him away a second time after your world broke him! Your kind call those of us without magic animals simply because we don't have your '__**gift**__' but the truth is that the lot of you are nothing but monsters without even a shred of human decency. Now, get out and stay out. Never darken our door again. And you had best stay away from the boy; I won't allow you to send him to his grave like you did my sister._"

Things at the Dursley's house had changed for Harry that day.

Vernon still mostly ignored Harry and Dudley still picked on him and teased him but Petunia had taken him in hand to prepare him for his move to Japan. She'd bought him four changes of clothes (one set of sleep ware, a set of warm casual wear, a set of summer casual wear, and a nice set of formal clothes). She'd arranged for him to take remedial lessons in all of the non-magical subjects he'd not taken at Hogwarts and hired him a Japanese tutor. She'd even taken him to Diagon Alley so he could make arrangements with Gringotts for all of the money in his vault bar a couple thousand galleons to be converted into yen and transferred to a muggle bank in Tokyo in his name.

It had been rather shocking for Harry to learn that his aunt had actually known about the money he'd inherited from his parents (and a few others that had left their money the 'Boy-Who-Lived' because they hadn't had an heir). Apparently, she'd not had any interest in claiming a single cent of that money due to its magical origins. She also wasn't about to let the magicals confiscate a single cent of his inheritance because he had 'lost' his magic through their negligence. The only reason that the goblins had cooperated that day was because Aunt Petunia (Harry's principle guardian) had been with him and he'd still had the key that Hagrid had given to him on his eleventh birthday.

Learning that Petunia did actually care about what happened to Harry (little though it was) had been rather eye opening for the former wizard and it made it a lot easier to forgive her for his somewhat unpleasant childhood. It helped that she was the one that had made the effort to give him a new start in life where he wouldn't constantly be surrounded by the reminders of all that he had lost that night when he and his friends had foolishly gone after the Philosopher's Stone to protect it from Voldemort. She'd even arranged for him to be given an alias so that it would be harder for anyone from the magical world to track him down.

Granted, Harold Evans wasn't exactly an original or even a particularly clever alias but it was a name that was common enough for it to be overlooked by most people. The best thing about his new name, in Harry's opinion, was the fact that as Harold Evans, he was no longer Harry James Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived; he could go back to being 'just Harry'. Or so he hoped. Part of him feared that his new scars and inability to speak would draw far too much of the wrong sort of attention to him; which was why he took pains to hide the scar on his neck and had taken to keeping his head bowed to hide the scar on his face.

He also knew that his special treatment at his new school would draw further attention to him. Due to how recently he'd lost his eye, he had been exempted from participating in any sports during his physical education classes or through a sports club until he learned to compensate for the loss; though he was still required to do calisthenics, stretches, run laps, and other such warm up and conditioning exercises. He would also be excused from participating in any activity that required verbalization due to the fact that he could no longer speak. That meant that his class participation would be limited to paying attention, taking notes and exams, completing daily class assignments, and solving an occasional problem on the board; something the other kids were likely to pick up on fairly quickly.

The principle of the school had also waved the necessity for Harry to be a member of one of the school's activities committees for his first year. The reason for that exemption was strictly due to the fact that Mrs. Echizen had made arrangements for him to receive counseling three days a week from the school's onsite psychologist (though those sessions wouldn't start until his second month of classes in order to give him time to settle in). The reason for the counseling sessions was to help him deal with the mental scars that had been left from his encounter with Quirrell and Voldemort at the end of his first year at Hogwarts.

And both the Echizen family and the school faculty were fully aware of how he had received his injuries. Or rather, they were fully aware of the cover story that Petunia had created to explain her need to ship him off alone to a completely different country and was based upon the story she'd dragged out of him (via pen and paper) shortly after Dumbledore had dropped him off. The cover story wasn't really all that far from the truth either; the only thing missing from it was the mention of magic (including the true nature of Hogwarts or the fact that Harry's magic had been stripped from him).

The cover story stated that Harry had been kidnapped by the members of a satanic cult and that he had nearly been killed in one of their brutal rituals. It also included the information that Harry had killed the cult's leader, one of the cult's 'priests', and a large, dangerous snake in self defense during his escape attempt. The details of how he had killed them and how exactly he had escaped were a little vague aside from the mention of firearms (a reference to wands) and an explosion. It was close enough to the truth that Harry had no problems remembering it.

Using that story and a claim that Harry had been placed in a witness protection program would also keep his name and face out of the media for the duration of his stay in Japan. His name and picture wouldn't even appear in the school's yearbook because of it; since a copy of all yearbooks were kept in a semi-public library on campus and distributed to the vast majority of the student body at the end of each academic year.

Harry was drawn from his internal musings when the two boys reached the school a short while later. The large number of students flowing through the entrance gave the one-eyed twelve year pause for a moment; he hadn't expected there to be quite so many children attending the school. Part of him wanted to slink away from the crowds but the rest of him was far too Gryffindorish to allow him to run in fear. Swallowing his nervousness, Harry split away from Ryoma and migrated to the shadows as he slipped through the school's entrance and made his way to the office to pick up his class schedule and the official notice he was to show all of his instructors regarding his special circumstances.

Once he knew which class group he had been assigned to (1-2), he headed towards his first classroom for his first lesson; mathematics. He would be one of the first freshmen (as all of the first year junior high school students were called) to enter the classroom and he silently approached the teacher to show him the note regarding his handicaps. The man barely glanced at the note before he signed it, handed it back to Harry (so he could show it to the rest of his instructors), and directed Harry to take a seat some where in the first row (so he would be able to clearly see the blackboard). Harry nodded in return before he claimed the desk right next to the right hand wall near the door where there was less of a chance that someone would sneak up on him from his blind side.

After hooking his bag to the back of the chair, Harry slouched down in the chair to make himself as small as possible while he waited for class to start. Each time another student entered the room, he would briefly take note of them but avoid making eye contact least one of them take that as an opening to approach him in an attempt to engage him in a conversation. He had no interest in making friends here; he felt no desire to have another friend turn their back on him and abandon him (the half-blind pre-teen completely unaware that it was Dumbledore who had instructed his friends not to contact him until he sought them out first so as not to remind him of all that he had lost).

Harry shoved the painful memory of his first ever friends severing their friendship back to the depths of his mind as he focused his attention instead on the teacher as the man began passing out workbooks to the class once most of the students had arrived. His attention was drawn back to the students just a couple of minutes later when a boy with short orange-brown hair, dark eyes, and a unibrow loudly entered the room. He was a bit surprised to see Ryoma entering the room on the loudmouth's heels; he had not realized that he'd been assigned to the same class group as the Echizens' son.

He was at least thankful that Ryoma had chosen to sit on the opposite side of the room next to the windows; he didn't want the other boy to feel obligated to watch over him or anything. To most people, Ryoma probably came off as being arrogant or cold but Harry figured he was just confident and a little more mature than most twelve year olds. Out of the entire Echizen family, Harry felt the most comfortable around Ryoma because of that; though he still did his best not to get in the other boy's way. Harry's interest in cultivating a new rival was on par with his interest in making friends; non-existent. He'd had enough of that kind of stuff after dealing with Dudley and Malfoy.

The bell rang just two minutes later and Harry put his worries aside as he focused on the instructor's lecture. The class period would pass by fairly quickly and before Harry knew it, the bell signaling the end of the class was ringing. The next class period would be English followed by P.E. and Social Studies before their group was given a lunch break. After lunch he would have Science and Japanese before he was done for the day. In between each class there was a five minute break to allow for both students and instructors to move between classes.

His class periods that morning flew by fairly quickly but the brief breaks in between classes were hell for Harry as the other children finally took notice of him and attempted to draw him into a conversation. The only one who wasn't pestering him during that time was Ryoma and for that, Harry was thankful. He also appreciated the fact that Ryoma didn't tell anyone what he knew about Harry's background story each time an opportunity to do so was presented to him; though that did surprise him a bit. After the third break, most of his classmates stopped trying to approach him and instead began taking note of the fact that the teachers never called on him during the class.

Harry hated the attention and speculation about him that was flying fast between his peers but he did his best to ignore them. It wasn't like he hadn't had to deal with such things before; both at Hogwarts and during his years at primary school back in Surrey (though the reasons for the attention had been different at each school). His only saving grace was the fact that Ryoma garnered almost as much attention since this was the other boy's first year at this school as well; which meant that Harry was only garnering half of the attention that he would have otherwise.

The bell signaling the start of the lunch break came as a welcome relief for the mute pre-teen and he was the first one out of the room in his effort to escape his curious classmates. He then spent the next eight minutes hunting down a secluded corner of the grounds in hopes that he could avoid his peers until the afternoon classes started. He would end up tucking himself into a small gap between one the school's main building and a row of hedges where he was easily overlooked by passing students and teachers alike. The only way one would be able to spot him was if they were looking straight down from an open window or the building's rooftop.

As he ate the lunch that Mrs. Echizen had packed him, Harry silently wished he still had his father's invisibility cloak so he could hide beneath it. He had no idea what had happened to the magical cloth though; he hadn't seen it since he, Ron, and Hermione had used it to sneak into the Third Floor Corridor that night. He suspected Dumbledore had confiscated it alongside the rest of his things but he had no proof. At least the man hadn't taken the small photo album that Hagrid had given Harry towards the end of his stay in the Hospital Wing just before he was expelled; those pictures of his parents were priceless treasures in Harry's mind.

At the end of the lunch period, Harry would slip out of his hiding spot and return to the classroom for his afternoon lessons; never noticing the gaze of a curious senior watching him from a second story window. By the time he found his next classroom, all of the other freshmen in his group were already there and Harry felt distinctly uncomfortable as he slunk into the room, dropped his note on the instructor's desk, and took the first empty seat available. He could sense at least three people heading in his direction and he purposefully buried his nose in one of his text books in the hopes that they'd leave him alone.

Harry would be spared from whatever it was the trio had been planning by the arrival of their fifth period instructor and the ringing of the bell. His relief would only be short lived though as their science teacher ordered them to pair off in groups of two or three after giving them a short lecture. Harry sat frozen in his seat as the rest of the class selected a lab partner from amongst their friends; a large knot forming in his stomach over the prospect of being forced to work together with another student.

"Do you have a lab partner yet, Evans-san?" a familiar voice inquired as a pair of shoes stepped into Harry's peripheral vision.

Harry tipped his head to the side just enough to briefly glance up at the individual now standing beside his desk and felt conflicted when he confirmed that it was Ryoma that had approached him. He hesitated for a second before he minutely shook his head no in response to the question.

"Ah, I thought so. Would you mind being my partner then?"

Harry blinked twice and briefly snapped his head up to look directly at Ryoma for the first time since he'd met the boy two weeks earlier (unintentionally giving the other twelve year old a clear view of his scarred face bar what was hidden behind his eye patch) before he dropped his chin back down to his chest and wrote out a single word on the open notebook in front of him. If he had kept his eye on the other boy a few seconds longer, he would have noticed the brief flash of shock that passed over Ryoma's face the moment he had gotten a good look at the visible portions of the scar on Harry's face.

_Why?_

"Why not? You don't have a partner yet and neither do I," Ryoma countered after he'd recovered his aplomb enough to glance down at the notebook to read what Harry had written. Harry bit his lip as he glanced back up at Ryoma through the fringe of his hair while he considered the other boy's logic before he let out a silent sigh and shrugged his shoulders in response. Ryoma snorted in return as he leaned back against the desk beside Harry and lazily retorted, "I guess that makes us partners then. Are you any good at science?"

Harry hesitantly nodded before he held out his left hand parallel to the floor and rotated his wrist to make the universal sign for 'so-so'. He then scribbled out a witty, _I'm good at melting and blowing things up_, on his notebook before angling it so that Ryoma could read it; his mind automatically thinking back to the number of cauldrons he'd destroyed during potions lessons at Hogwarts (mostly because of interference from the Slytherins or Snape breathing down his neck).

Ryoma flashed him a small grin in response as he replied, "I'm glad I'm not the only one."

Harry started to laugh only to cut off abruptly due to the rasping sound of air passing over his ruined vocal chords; the sudden reminder of his ruined voice box killing the brief flash of amusement he had felt. His left hand unconsciously snaked up to clutch at neck of his shirt; his fingers twisting in the fabric as he once more felt the sharp bite of a blade slicing through his flesh. He snapped back to the present when he sensed rather than saw the instructor reaching out to drop a hand on his shoulder and leaned sideways in his seat to avoid the touch.

"Is there something wrong, Evans-kun?" the instructor inquired with a frown as he dropped his hand.

Harry shook his head no even as he sank lower in his chair out of embarrassment due to the fact that he'd nearly had a panic attack in the middle of class.

"If you're certain; though if something does come up, then I expect you to let me know," the instructor replied before he addressed the entire class. "Does everyone have a partner now? Good, let us head through the door at the back of the room and into the science lab next door so I can go over the safety procedures you will be required to follow when using the lab for your experiments."

The rest of fifth period and all of sixth period passed by in a blur as Harry sank into a state of numbness. Before he knew it, the final bell signaling the end of the lessons for the day rang loudly and his fellow classmates scrambled to gather up their things before heading off to their start of term committee meetings. Harry mechanically copied them as he packed his things into his book bag; his mind a half a world away as a small part of him wondered what he would be doing right that moment if he'd still had his magic and was still attending Hogwarts.

He would eventually make his way out onto the school grounds after delivering his signed note back to the office and wandering aimlessly about the grounds for a good twenty minutes before he left the campus and headed back to the Echizens' place; the despondent twelve year old once again oblivious to the curious gaze following him as he left the school.

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**Translations:** Japanese to English

Gakuran – school uniform worn by boys  
Itadakimasu – an expression of gratitude usually offered before one eats (similar to saying bon appétit)  
Seishun Gakuen – Seishun Academy (Seigaku for short)

**Notes:**

Science class – I am basing the idea of having a classroom and a lab room on my experiences in middle school, high school, and college where the lecture room was situated directly beside the lab. The reason for this was to avoid the students from being distracted during lectures and to allow other classes to use the lab on those days when our class was not in the lab. So, for those of you who are used to having your lecture and lab in the same room, please keep in mind that not all schools use that model for their science classes and I am going off the model that I am most familiar with.

* * *

**AN:** _Just a quick reminder that any apparent holes found in the information provided within this chapter (as far as the story line goes) will be explained/filled in future chapters as the story unfolds. That includes the full details about Harry's new status as a squib._

**10-02-15:** _Minor edits made to chapter to fix spelling/grammar mistakes and removed unnecessary author's notes._


	2. Afterschool Encounters

**Disclaimer:** _I used to write out a very specific disclaimer explaining exactly what it is I don't own but I find myself not really interested in doing so as it is very tedious. Suffice it to say I own nothing that was created by anyone else and I am making no money whatsoever from the writing of this FanFiction._

**Warnings:** _Mild to moderate violence, character death, foul language, alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon from both worlds goodbye), angst, drama, and who knows what else. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

Chapter Two: Afterschool Encounters

_Friday, April 16, 1993, Mid-Afternoon  
Seishun Gakuen, Tokyo, Japan_

Harry had only been attending Seigaku for three weeks and already he wished the school term was over. It wasn't the classes or the homework that was giving him issues though (despite the year he'd missed while attending Hogwarts); it was the other students. The only other freshman that was remotely friendly towards him was Ryoma and the other boy was rarely ever around after he'd joined the school's tennis club. Harry knew he only had himself to blame for the growing animosity from the rest of the students but half of the problem was out of his control; it was not like he could verbally respond to people, after all.

However, he could have made a bigger effort to interact with his peers despite his disability.

Instead, his introverted demeanor, his special privileges (strictly due to his disabilities), said disabilities, and his status as a foreigner had made him even more of an outcast than he'd been during primary school. His immediate peers mostly just avoided him and gossiped about him behind his back whenever they thought he couldn't see or hear him while the majority of the upperclassmen just ignored him completely; which made them fairly easy to ignore. Unfortunately, there were a handful of juniors and seniors that took perverse enjoyment in tormenting him at every available opportunity.

It had all started on back on the morning of the sixth when he'd accidentally knocked over a pair of bikes on the way to class in order to avoid a group of gossiping girls that weren't paying attention to where they were walking. The owners of the bikes had taken immediate offense at both their bikes being scuffed up and Harry's inability to verbally apologize for knocking them down in the first place (they'd ignored his written ones). Ever since then, the two juniors and a few of their friends had reinvented 'Harry Hunting' in their efforts to 'teach him his place'.

Harry could usually avoid the bullies in between classes but it was far harder to hide or escape from them during his lunch break or at the end of the day once they'd learned that he left school after sixth period (the group frequently skived off their committee duties and club activities now just to hunt him down). It would do no good to spend his lunch period in the library either since they'd just ambush him outside of the library once the period was over. He had hoped that they would give up and leave him alone if he just ignored and avoided them but over the course of the past week and a half they'd only grown angrier and far more determined to make him pay.

The one-eyed freshman wasn't afraid of them, he knew the worst they could do was rough him up a bit, but he feared that the moment they actually got their hands on him, he'd fall into a flashback induced panic attack that would draw even more attention to him and invite the rest of the bullies to see him as an easy target. That was something that he most assuredly did _not_ want to have happen. He also didn't want to take the chance that his touch or his blood (if they injured him) would burn or kill them since he didn't know if that ability had been linked to his magic or him personally.

His situation wouldn't have been all that concerning if it wasn't for the fact that he'd become an outcast and a loner in such a short time; since traveling in a group would have made him less of a target in the first place. Being a loner was particularly hazardous in Harry's case since it wasn't exactly possible for him to raise his voice and call for help in the event that he was cornered. The complete lack of friends also meant that there really wasn't anyone who would even bother to go looking for him outside of the teachers (who were themselves rather busy).

The only real advantage that Harry had over those that were attempting to bully him was the fact that he'd spent most of his childhood outwitting bullies. Another potential advantage was his ability to memorize the layout of the school and take note of those hiding places that were easily accessible to one as small as him. That was an ability that had been born out of necessity during his single year at Hogwarts due to the staircases, doors, and the artwork constantly changing on a daily basis. The fact that the school he was now attending was mundane in origin just meant that he had been able to memorize the layout of the entire school by his third day of classes since nothing ever changed.

Unfortunately, Harry's luck would abandon him after his last class on the sixteenth when he found a couple of the bullies waiting for him outside of his classroom. Instinct sent Harry bolting in the opposite direction in an attempt to slip out of the obvious ambush only for him to run right into the bullies' trap when he got cornered in the stairwell by the other four bullies in the group. His attempt to backtrack was then quickly cut off by the two that had been waiting for him outside of his classroom and Harry grimly retreated into the corner on the landing between the staircases.

"Not so cocky now, are you, gaijin?" the leader of the group taunted as the six of them closed ranks around Harry in order to block any escape attempts he might make. "Did you really think that you could get away with disrespecting your betters?"

Harry felt a spark of anger burn through him in response to the almost familiar taunt; his mind overlaying Malfoy's imperious tone overtop of the junior's voice. The idea that someone could be better than him just because they had been born a year or two before him or because they had been born into a 'superior' family always ignited the fierce temper that he had inherited from his mother. Clenching his hands into fists, Harry tucked his chin lower as he allowed the strap of his book bag to slip off of his shoulder before he kicked the bag behind him once it hit the floor so it wouldn't get in his way.

"Oh-ho, boss; the little gaki is so scared he's shaking in his shoes. I bet the little runt will piss his pants and then run crying all the way home to his mommy once we've finished with him," another of the bullies interjected and Harry let a soundless snarl form on his lips as he lifted his head just enough to shoot the group a heated one-eyed glare.

"Well, well, would you look at that; the little gaijin has a bit of fight in him when he's cornered," the shortest of the juniors jeered as he stepped forward and attempted to shove Harry into the wall. Harry twisted away from the older boy's hands and retaliated with a sharp kick to the side of the knee where the kneecap sat over the joint. He was immediately rewarded with a yelp of pain from the bully as the junior dropped to the floor and clutched his knee while rolling back and forth on the ground. "Itai! Itai! Itai!"

"Hideyoshi!" the other bullies chorused in unison as two of them quickly pulled the injured boy from the floor and dragged him out of range of Harry's feet.

"You're going to pay for that, teme," the leader snarled as he came at Harry swinging with his right fist.

Harry twisted back in the other direction and crouched down at the last second so that the senior's punch impacted on the wall behind him instead of on his face where the boy had been aiming and the third year let out a howl of agony as the sound of snapping bones filled the stairwell. The green-eyed freshman then took advantage of the fact that the bigger boy was hovering right over him as he elbowed him in the family jewels as hard as he could before shoving him backwards with his shoulder as he stood up again.

The four uninjured bullies gaped in shock as their leader collapsed to the floor in breathless agony for two full minutes before they all cracked their knuckles in a show of intimidation and advanced on Harry as a group while a now recovered (but still in pain, if the limp he sported was any indication) Hideyoshi moved their fallen leader out of the way. Harry grimly stood his ground and mentally prepared himself for the coming pain as his chances of escaping unharmed just sank to zero. If they had continued to attack him one at a time, he would have easily avoided being hit but he knew full well he didn't stand a chance against multiple opponents.

That didn't mean he just stood there and took said beating though; his feet, fists, knees, and elbows lashed out at his attackers right up until two of them managed to grab hold of his arms. He was immediately forced down onto his knees by the two older boys while a third punched him once in the face (breaking his glasses and giving him a bloody nose) before he began repeatedly kicking Harry in the stomach. While that was happening, the fourth bully upended Harry's book bag and dug through his books and things in search of any cash Harry had on him.

"Che, cheap little bastard doesn't even have any money in here," the bully digging through Harry's things growled in disgust as he threw Harry's things over the stair rail before he joined the trio beating on Harry; fisting his hand in Harry's hair to hold him upright.

"We'll just have to administer a beating a day until he coughs up a daily protection fee then, ne?" the junior kicking Harry responded back as he landed another kick to Harry's abused mid-section; his words setting the entire group to laughing (bar the leader who was still recovering from the blow to his gonads).

Harry never heard the short exchange; he was in too much pain and too wrapped up in his memories due to the way the first blow to his face had set his right eye on fire and the feel of the hand that was now fisted in his hair. His torment probably would have stopped fairly quickly if Harry had been able to beg them to stop or even just acknowledge the blows they were raining on him with a few cries or grunts of pain. Unfortunately, not a single sound would pass through his lips; his continued silence unintentionally goading the upperclassmen to be more brutal in their efforts to make him cry out.

The beating would end abruptly ten minutes after he'd first been ambushed when another senior happened to be drawn towards the ruckus they were causing.

* * *

_Friday, April 16, 1993, Mid-Afternoon  
Seishun Gakuen, Tokyo, Japan_

Fifteen year old Inui Sadaharu had been making his way to the weekly meeting of the Executive Committee in charge of organizing the School's Festival activities when a rain of school supplies clattering to the floor at the base of the stairwell leading up to the upper levels of the building caught his attention. A frown crossed his face as he changed directions and made his way to the pile of discarded belongings to pick up one of the notebooks. He then glanced upwards as he picked up the sound of several irritated voices coming from above him.

"Probably of an underclassman being bullied by a group of upperclassmen; ninety-three percent," Sadaharu muttered under his breath as he quickly collected the items littering the floor and tucked them into the book bag that had been amongst them (his eyes noting the name Evans H. written on a number of the class assignments).

He then shouldered the bag alongside of his own as he headed up the stairs to investigate the commotion. His lips compressed together in anger the moment he was far enough up the stairs to get a clear view of the scene playing out on the landing between floors. It only took him a split second to piece together what was happening based upon what he knew of the juniors and seniors involved and what little he had learned about their young victim over the past three weeks of school. A victim that he himself had been observing since he'd spied the boy hiding behind the hedges during lunch and leaving campus early on the first day of term.

"I suggest that the four of you desist immediately before your inevitable suspension and potential expulsion turns into a criminal case because your attack sends that young man to the hospital in critical condition," Sadaharu stated in a matter-of-fact tone that had all six bullies jumping in shock because none of them had noticed his arrival.

"Mind your own business, Inui," Kawano Choutarou, a fellow senior and the leader of the small gang of bullies, rasped from his position on the floor; his hunched over posture, clenched jaw, and irregular rate of breathing a clear indication that he'd recently taken a blow to the crotch. The molted bruising and swelling of his right hand was also indication that several bones in his hand had been broken; the injury undoubtedly the result of his fist impacting the wall when he missed his target.

"Stopping you from causing a fellow student more harm is my business," Sadaharu countered as he calmly reached up to adjust his glasses in a calculated move to show the six bullies that he was not in any way cowed by their presence despite their superior numbers. "I have already sent my companion to notify the nearest staff member and I fully expect an adult to arrive in less than five minutes."

Several muttered curses rang out from the group as the four surrounding the injured freshman released their victim before they collected their injured cohorts and quickly vacated the area. Sadaharu didn't allow himself to relax until he was certain they were well and truly gone; there had only been a forty-six percent chance of them falling for his bluff. Once he was certain they were alone, the fifteen year old carefully approached the fallen freshman in an effort to make himself seem unthreatening.

He needn't have bothered; the boy had passed out from the pain either just before or just after he had intervened. The moment he realized the boy was unconscious, Sadaharu knelt down beside him and carefully checked to make certain that the younger boy was breathing before he checked his heart rate. He grew rather worried when he noted how cold the freshman felt to the touch, how labored and shallow his breaths were, and the erratic tempo of his heartbeat; clear indications that the kid had gone into shock.

Cursing under his breath, Sadaharu hurriedly pocketed the broken glasses he noticed on the floor beside the freshman before he carefully shifted the unconscious boy over onto his back so he could pick him up. The moment he got a clear view of the boy's face, he froze in shock as his eyes locked onto the nasty scar marring the right side of the boy's face.

"The disfiguring scar obtained in what could only be a violent encounter, observed loner behavior indicating a distaste or fear of your peers, and an ability to incapacitate two of your attackers before you were overwhelmed by their greater numbers are all clear indications that you were the victim of repeated bullying in the past," Sadaharu mumbled under his breath as he shook off his surprise and carefully collected the injured boy in his arms.

As he headed back down the stairs with his fragile burden in order to seek medical aide for the boy, he continued to mutter various predictions under his breath, "Probability of this latest assault having a negative mental and emotional impact upon your already damaged psyche; ninety-eight percent. Odds that you will be withdrawn from Seigaku for an extended period of recovery by your parents; eighty-two percent. Likelihood of you requesting a transfer to a new school due to this incident; twenty-five percent if the perpetrators are expelled and seventy-five percent if they are only suspended for a short time as punishment."

Sadaharu was more than a little perturbed when he didn't run into a single adult on his way to the Infirmary; the chances that every single member of the faculty could have been occupied at that exact moment were actually fairly low; maybe around three percent. The fact that they were occupied at the exact moment that the freshman in his arms had been beset upon by six upperclassmen was troubling since there was an eight percent chance that a member of the staff had helped orchestrate the incident. Most people would assume the absence of the staff was merely a coincidence but Sadaharu didn't believe in coincidences.

Grumbling under his breath, the fifteen year old senior used his foot to open the door to the infirmary as he raised his voice to urgently announce, "Nurse, I have an injured freshman here in dire need of immediate assistance!"

"The nurse isn't in at the moment… Inui, is that you?" Oishi Shuichiro, a fellow senior and a member of the tennis club alongside of Sadaharu as well as a friend of his, called out as he poked his head out of the nurse's office in response to Sadaharu's statement. His eyes then zeroed in on the limp form nestled in Sadaharu's arms and immediately went into what Sadaharu privately termed Oishi's Mother Hen Mode as he hurried out of the office and crisply instructed, "Place him on this bed here and tell me what happened."

Sadaharu complied without hesitation, "I stumbled across him being assaulted by a group of juniors and seniors on my way to my weekly meeting with the Festival Committee. I sent them running and immediately brought him here once it became clear he had fallen unconscious and that his body had gone into shock. Aside from the obvious blow to the face, I witnessed one of them repeatedly kicking him in the stomach while three others held him down."

"Chikushou," Oishi breathed under his breath as he deftly unbuttoned the younger boy's uniform jacket and pulled up his shirt and undershirt to reveal a dark purple bruise that was still spreading across the boy's pale stomach; a clear sign that the boy had a significant amount of internal damage and was bleeding internally. His fellow senior immediately rounded on one of the junior's that was also a member of the school's Health Committee and ordered, "Fujimoto-kun, run as fast as you can to the principle's office and inform him that a freshman was attacked and severely injured on campus. Inui, I need you to phone emergency services and request an ambulance; our Infirmary is not capable of treating his injuries and I don't know when the nurse will return."

Sadaharu was moving towards the phone before Oishi had even finished giving him the order.

The next hour and a half passed by in a blur of chaotic fury as Sadaharu repeatedly reported what he had witnessed to several school staff members, the officers that had been sent to investigate the assault, and the emergency personnel that had arrived to transport the injured freshman to the hospital. He had also given the officers and the principle the names and descriptions of all six perpetrators. By the time the freshman, one Evans Harold, had been removed from the campus and the officers had taken their leave, Sadaharu felt exhausted and rung out; as if he'd been swept up in a tornado before being spat out again.

He couldn't even find the energy to mentally review and organize the large amount of data that he'd just collected on the mysterious little first year that he'd been observing since the first day of term.

"Inui-sempai! Do you have any idea what is going on?" Momoshiro Takeshi, a fourteen year old junior who was part of the tennis club, inquired as he, Kaidou Kaoru (another junior), and four of the current freshmen members of the tennis club approached him; the presence of the police and an ambulance on campus had naturally drawn a crowd of spectators.

"Kawano's little gang cornered a freshman immediately after sixth period; he was severely injured enough to warrant immediate hospitalization," Sadaharu replied as he glanced at the four freshmen to observe their reactions to the news; noting the glance that three of the four exchanged while the fourth only frowned, leading him to believe that they already suspected the identity of the victim.

"It was probably Evans; that arrogant jerk has been asking for trouble from day one with his attitude," Horio Satoshi, a rather loud-mouthed freshman wearing a green, orange, and white striped shirt, callously stated as he crossed his arms over his chest. His outburst confirming Sadaharu's earlier belief that they had known or suspected who the victim had been.

"Urusai, Horio," Echizen Ryoma, the freshman tennis prodigy that had knocked Sadaharu from his place on the regular's team during the recent ranking matches, growled in an uncharacteristic show of irritation. "You have no right to judge Evans-san when you know nothing about him."

"Was this Evans guy a friend of yours?" Momoshiro asked with some surprise as he snapped his gaze down to stare at Echizen.

"Iie, he's only been living with us for just over a month now; okaasan took him in as a favor for an old friend," Echizen countered with a shake of his head before he tensed his shoulders and glanced sideways at Sadaharu from beneath his cap. "How serious were his injuries?"

"Nani…!? Evans has been living with you all this time and it doesn't bother you that he still gives you a cold shoulder and practically ignores you?" Horio demanded dramatically as he reared back in shock. "I mean, he won't even talk to you! Or anyone else for that matter, now that I think about it."

"Urusai!" Echizen snapped as he cast a glare at his fellow freshman.

"You can't deny that Evans does treat people rather coldly," Mizuno Katsuo, another of the club's freshmen members, hesitantly pointed out.

"And did it ever occur to you that Evans-san never spoke to anyone because he is incapable of speaking?" Echizen retorted with a scowl. "Did you never notice the way he is constantly writing his replies down in his notebooks when he interacted with the instructors?" The young prodigy then returned his attention back to Sadaharu and repeated his earlier question, "Inui-sempai, will you please tell me how badly Evans-san was injured?"

"Bloody nose, two black eyes, and extensive bruising on his torso indicative of internal bleeding from extensive soft tissue damage," Sadaharu replied when it became obvious that the younger boy was not going to stop asking until he got an answer. "He was unconscious by the time I intervened in the altercation and his body had gone into shock. I suspect that he will be hospitalized for a minimum of one week; possibly longer, if the damage to his internal organs requires surgery to stop the bleeding."

Unsurprisingly, all six of his fellow tennis players blanched upon learning the full extent of the silent boy's injuries. He was a bit caught off guard by the brief flash of chagrin that crossed Echizen's face; as if the rather stand-offish and often arrogant freshman felt guilty over what had happened. _A distinct possibility_, Sadaharu thought to himself as he recalled what Echizen had said about the other boy being a ward of his family.

"Ano, what did you mean when you said he can't speak?" Kato Kachiro, the last freshman in the group, asked after several minutes of tense silence had passed.

Echizen tensed in response to the question and Sadaharu immediately deduced that the younger boy was feeling rather conflicted about the request to impart sensitive information about the boy his mother had taken in hand. Sadaharu was almost one hundred percent certain that Echizen was going to ignore the invasive question right up until he quietly, if reluctantly, answered his fellow freshman after he'd checked to make sure no one outside of their little group was close enough to hear him.

"Evans-san was kidnapped from his boarding school nearly a year ago by two members of a satanic cult. I don't know why he was chosen or what all they did to him but from what I overheard my parents saying, the people who kidnapped him intended to use him as a sacrifice him in some sick ritual and he lost both his voice and his right eye during the incident. The only other thing I know is that Evans somehow managed to fight back even though he was dying and that he ended up killing his two kidnappers before authorities rescued him."

"Barbaric," Kaidou half hissed under his breath as he moodily glared at nothing while the three less mature freshmen present turned more than a little green after hearing what their fellow freshman had gone through.

"The kid's probably going to be upset with you when he learns you've been sharing that information," Momoshiro murmured once he'd shaken off his own shock at hearing what had been done to the other boy.

"Most likely; he doesn't really like the way everyone gossips about him. I wasn't going to say anything but I'm tired of people saying such nasty things about him behind his back and treating him so badly because of something he has no control over."

Sadaharu didn't miss the way Horio cringed in response to the pointed barb and the bespectacled teen knew there was an eighty-nine percent chance that Echizen had aimed that particular comment at the tactless boy. He upped that to a solid one hundred percent probability when he noticed the pointed look Echizen shot at Horio just a second later.

"Inui-sempai, what happened to the guys that attacked Evans-san?" Kato asked in an effort to dispel the uncomfortable air that had settled over the group in the wake of Echizen's explanation.

"The police are searching for them, if they haven't already found them. At least one of them, possibly two of them, will have needed to visit the hospital themselves in any case."

"Oh… why is that?" Momoshiro drawled curiously as he arched an eyebrow at Sadaharu.

"Evans was able to disable two of his assailants before he was overwhelmed by their numbers. Kawano, at least, will need to have his right hand treated for multiple fractures. I am uncertain to how badly Yamashiro Hideyoshi's knee was damaged but he was limping fairly badly when the group fled after I confronted them."

"Why didn't Evans just run if he was outnumbered six to one?" Kaidou rhetorically demanded as he scowled off in the direction the ambulance had gone when it left the school.

"I suspect he made an attempt to avoid the confrontation but found himself cornered in the stairwell instead. I had observed him giving Kawano's group the slip a few times during lunch over the past two weeks; so I doubt he would have stuck around if he'd had even the slightest chance of slipping away."

"Baka, he could have told me he was having problems with bullies instead of slinking off alone all the time," Echizen complained half-heartedly as he took an indecisive step towards the entrance of the school.

"Oh good, I finally found you guys," Kikumaru Eiji, a playful senior and one of the regulars in the tennis club, crowed as he trotted up to the group and promptly locked Echizen in a headlock. "Ryuzaki-sensei sent me to let you know that practice has been canceled. Oh, and Ochibi-chan, sensei told me to tell you that your otousan called the school about half an hour ago and asked her to pass along a message to you."

"What was the message, sempai?" Echizen asked as he wriggled out of Kikumaru's hold.

"Eeto… oh, I remember now; your otousan said you were supposed to bring something home for supper because your okaasan and your itoko were planning to stay at the hospital until they received news on Hari-kun's condition. Ano, who is Hari-kun? Is he your otouto or something?"

Echizen muttered a few uncomplimentary adjectives under his breath after hearing his father's message before he began trotting towards the tennis club's locker room to grab his things. As he hurried off, he absently he answered Kikumaru's question over his shoulder, "No, Evans-san isn't my otouto; he's five months older than I am and we're not related."

"Who is he then?" Kikumaru asked in confusion as he stared after the fast disappearing freshman. "Oi, where are you going in such a hurry, Ochibi?"

"To the hospital," was the faint reply.

"Evans Harold is a ward his mother took in as a favor for an old friend," Sadaharu answered absently as he adjusted his glasses out of habit. "He is also the freshman that was assaulted earlier this afternoon."

"Honto…?"

"Hai."

"Are they really close then?" Kikumaru wondered as the entire group began moving in Echizen's wake in order to collect their own belongings from the lockers.

"No, they aren't friends. The only time we've ever seen them together is on lab days since Echizen volunteered to be Evans's lab partner in science," Horio replied in a subdued tone that sounded out of place on the normally hyperactive pre-teen. "We didn't even know that Evans was staying with Echizen until today."

"Sou desu ka? Wait, isn't Evans the name of that kid the three of you are always complaining about during practice?"

"Hai," Mizuno and Kato miserably confirmed in stereo. "We were wrong about him. He hasn't been ignoring everyone and giving us the cold shoulder all this time. He didn't speak to anyone because he actually can't speak at all."

"Sounds like the three of you have some serious groveling to do when Evans returns to school," Momoshiro weakly teased in an effort to cheer the trio up.

"If he returns," Sadaharu countered grimly.

"What do you mean? Were his injuries that serious?" Kikumaru asked in shock.

"Potentially, yes; however, I was referring to the distinct possibility that Evans would file for a transfer to a different school because of the attack or withdraw from the public school system entirely out of fear that he will be attacked yet again. It all depends on how shaken the incident leaves him once he regains consciousness and whether or not he is willing to face the inevitable attention he will receive once he returns."

Sadaharu then stopped and turned back to face the three subdued freshmen as he sternly added, "Knowing that, I would highly advise the three of you not to speak of what you now know about Evans's past least the spread of that information causes him further problems."

"Hai, sempai," all three boys quickly replied as they flinched away from Sadaharu in fear.

"Why… what happened to Ochibi-chan's little roomy?" Kikumaru inquired as the group began moving again.

"Phsss, a couple of sick weirdos kidnapped him from his school and attempted to sacrifice him to whatever demon they worshipped," Kaidou hissed irritably before he broke away from the group.

"Is that true?" Kikumaru demanded of Sadaharu in a low tone that had lost all of its usual playfulness.

"That is the bare basics of what we were told had happened; I am sure there is far more to it than that though," Sadaharu replied as he recalled the rather ugly scar that marred Evans's face.

Nothing more was said as the group finally reached the tennis courts and their assigned club slash locker room. Sadaharu was quick to note that there was no sight of either Echizen or Kaidou and their things had already been collected from their assigned cubby holes.

Sadaharu didn't waist any time in following their example; he had a significant amount of data he needed to record while it was still fresh in his mind now that he had had a moment to re-gather his wits.

* * *

**Translations:** Japanese to English

Ano – uh, um, or huh  
Baka – idiot  
Che – can be interpreted as a grunt of frustration or annoyance  
Chigau – can be used to mean wrong, no, or to differ  
Chikushou – damn/damn it  
Eeto – let me see…  
Gaijin – refers to any foreigner  
Gaki – brat  
Hai – yes  
Honto – really  
Iie – no  
Itai – ouch  
Itoko – cousin  
Nani – what  
Ne – used to solicit agreement or confirmation from the listener similar to using 'isn't it?' or 'right?' in English  
Ochibi-chan – Eiji's nickname for Ryoma (means little boy or short boy)  
Oi – hey  
Okaasan – mother  
Otousan – father  
Otouto – younger brother  
Phsss – the hissing sound that Kaidou frequently makes  
Sempai – upperclassmen, predecessor; essentially someone who has studied or been there before you (also sometimes spelled as spelled senpai)  
Sensei – teacher/instructor (can also refer to other professional figures such as doctors from what I understand)  
Sou desu ka? – Is that right?  
Teme – bastard/jerk (rude way of saying you)  
Urusai – be quiet/shut up (rude)

* * *

**10-02-15:** _Minor edits made to chapter to fix spelling/grammar mistakes and removed unnecessary author's notes._


	3. Awkward Awakenings and Interrogations

**Disclaimer:** _I used to write out a very specific disclaimer explaining exactly what it is I don't own but I find myself not really interested in doing so as it is very tedious. Suffice it to say I own nothing that was created by anyone else and I am making no money whatsoever from the writing of this FanFiction._

**Warnings:** _Mild to moderate violence, character death, foul language, alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon from both worlds goodbye), angst, drama, and who knows what else. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

Chapter Three: Awkward Awakenings and Interrogations

_Sunday, April 18, 1993, Early Morning  
Private Hospital Room, Tokyo, Japan_

Harry's return to consciousness was a long drawn out process due to his subconscious desire to avoid returning to reality once more. The barely sensed bite of pain nipping at his insides and licking at his blind eye with tongues of flame didn't exactly offer up any reason for him to hurry the process along either. Occasionally, he would hear muffled voices talking over and around him but his inability to recognize said voices or make out their words made them fairly easy to ignore.

When he did finally leave the dark depths of unconsciousness, he did so without any warning or fanfare; one minute he was floating in a dark void and the next he was staring up at a blurry white ceiling with his only working eye without any memory of actually opening his eyes. The stale scent of chemical disinfectants that filled his nose within seconds of acknowledging his state of consciousness told the twelve year old that he was in a hospital room. The soft humming of electricity coming from somewhere behind his head accompanied by a steady stream of faint beeps told him he was in a muggle hospital.

That knowledge brought with it a sharp reminder that he had been exiled from the wizarding world after his magic had been torn from him during the failed ritual that Quirrell had been performing to bind Voldemort's spirit to Harry's body through the Philosopher's Stone. The rhythm of the beeps coming from the machine behind him suddenly turned erratic as his emotions went haywire in response to his memories of that night. A steady stream of tears seeped from Harry's eyes as he stared unseeingly at the ceiling; his heart breaking all over again as he vividly recalled how he had been cast aside the moment it was determined that he'd been stripped of his magic.

The clenching of his stomach muscles in an effort to hold in the scream that he couldn't even give voice to sent a sharp lance of pain through his abdomen and Harry made a soft hissing sound as he sucked in a sharp breath. It was at that moment that his memories of being shipped off to Japan by his aunt hit him. Those memories were soon followed by his memories of his new school and of being cornered by a group of upperclassmen after sixth period slammed back into his mind and Harry gave into the urge to scream (the sound nothing more than the rushing his of air passing through his throat) as he twisted in the bed so he could curl up on his side.

A nurse burst into the room at almost the same exact moment and her loud and unexpected entrance scared Harry enough that he threw himself out of the bed. He hit the floor hard but ignored the spikes of pain in his hip, wrist, and stomach as he scrambled back up to his feet and danced away from the blurry figure that had lunged towards him. When the wires and tubes attached to him checked his retreat, Harry didn't hesitate to rip them out as he twisted, ducked, and hopped away from the unfamiliar woman's attempts to grab hold of him all the while ignoring her attempts to verbally calm him down.

"Evans-kun! Please calm down, Evans-kun! No! Don't pull those out! Please stop jumping around before you hurt yourself, Evans-kun! Evans-kun! Evans-kun; I need you to stop panicking. Chikushou. No, not the door! Stop, Evans-kun! _Evans-kun!_"

Harry's brief attempt to escape through the still open door would be impeded when he collided with a blurry black-topped white and green wall that appeared in the doorway without warning. The former wizard ended up on the floor a second time as he bounced off the blockade. Momentarily stunned from the impact, Harry dizzily craned his head backwards to squint up at the brick wall that had cut him off from his escape. A split second later, he realized that his scars were in full view of whoever it was standing there and Harry ducked his chin and scrambled back to his feet; unintentionally giving the nurse behind him a clear view of his bare backside.

"Evans-kun, you will plant your scrawny, pale backside back on your bed right this minute!" the blurry woman in an equally blurry white uniform ordered as she all but stamped her foot in frustration over Harry's panic attack and failed escape attempt.

Harry spun around in renewed fear at the sound of her voice right up until her words registered in his mind alongside of the cool breeze that was caressing his bare butt. The one-eyed twelve year old silently eeped as his hands darted behind his back to clasp the edges of the hospital gown that he was wearing together while his entire body flushed bright red in mortification. A smothered chuckle from behind him reminded him that the nurse wasn't the only one in the room with him and Harry would have groaned in sheer dismay if he could.

All the fight bled out of the pre-teen at that point and the pain he'd been ignoring for the past few minutes made itself known as he visibly deflated. The nurse clucked her tongue in response before she let out a sigh and hurried forward to guide Harry back to the hospital bed he had woken up in. She then spent the next twenty minutes replacing most of the tubes, wires, and needles he'd yanked out as well as checking to make certain he hadn't injured himself too badly when he'd fallen out of the bed.

Most embarrassing of all had been when she had yanked his hospital gown up without any warning in order to inspect his stomach; though his indignant yelp went unheard. The sheer audacity of the nurse had soon been forgotten when he noticed that his abdomen was a solid blur of purplish-black instead of its usual pale near-white color. He swallowed thickly as he gingerly reached down to trail the edge of the giant bruise where it ran across the lower edge of his rib cage while the memory of being repeatedly kicked in the stomach continually played through his mind.

Once the woman was satisfied that he would both stay put and that he wasn't going to die any time soon (his earlier emotional turmoil had affected the various machines monitoring his health and raised an alarm at the nursing station), she left the room to inform the doctor that he was awake. Harry never noticed her leaving; he'd gotten completely lost in the looping memory of the beating by the time she'd pulled his gown back down and tucked him beneath a sheet and a thin blanket.

He would snap out of it five seconds after the nurse had left when he grew furious with himself for being so weak and after letting out an unsatisfactory near silent scream of rage, he grabbed hold of the pink plastic cup of water he could just barely make out on the table beside the bed and threw it as hard as he could at the blurry white wall he knew sat across from his bed. The pink pitcher of water and a slightly heavier plastic flower vase holding a colorful bouquet of flowers soon followed in the wake of the cup.

Harry's anger would leave him at that point and he listlessly flopped back on the bed and draped his right arm over his eyes to hide the tears of frustration that he could not hold back. An apathetic numbness was just settling over him when he discovered that he was not as alone in the room has he'd originally thought he was as the sound of chair legs being dragged across the floor penetrated the fog in his brain. Harry involuntarily cringed as he realized that whoever it was in the room with him had most likely just witnessed his little temper tantrum.

"It is only natural for you to feel angry over what happened to you Friday afternoon," a somewhat deep voice with very little emotional inflection in the tone stated on the heels of a soft squeak of metal chair joints; an indication that his unexpected and unknown visitor had just sat down beside his bed. "The odds that you would not be emotionally affected by the violent encounter with several upperclassmen were only around seven percent. Your earlier panic was also to be expected; though I was surprised by your ability to ignore the pain you must be in long enough to make an attempt to leave the hospital."

Harry dropped his arm and half pushed himself up off the pillow so he could take in the blurry black-topped white and green blur sitting beside the bed. Harry would have groaned in dismay if he could as he recalled the brick wall he'd run into earlier when he'd tried to flee the room; an embarrassed flush once again painting him bright red from head to toe (bar his nastily bruised torso) as he realized he must have mooned his visitor too. He was just considering the benefits of hiding under his covers when his guest spoke up again.

"I was relieved when Echizen had informed us yesterday that you suffered no permanent harm from your encounter with Kawano's little gang; I had been worried that they might have done you far more damage than I thought they had when I stopped them."

Harry automatically opened his mouth to ask his visitor what he meant only to snap his mouth shut in frustration a moment later as he once again recalled his inability to speak; something he had still not gotten used to despite having a minimum of seven months to accept his now silent existence.

"Here, this might help you," his guest stated as he set a brightly colored gift bag on the bed beside Harry. "I thought you might appreciate a more practical get well gift rather than the typical flowers or cutesy stuffed animals that most people give to individuals they know that have been hospitalized for various reasons."

The one-eyed pre-teen bounced his gaze between the bag and his visitor several times as his brow furrowed in confusion; he had no idea why a perfect stranger would give him a gift. It made absolutely no sense. His curiosity would eventually prompt him to look inside of the bag. His eyebrows rose in surprise when he found a notebook sized whiteboard, a pack of dry erase markers, and a small dry eraser inside. It was one of the most thoughtful gifts he'd ever received (bar the photo album that Hagrid had given him).

A hundred different questions crowded into Harry's mind as he stared down at the whiteboard in his hands.

"You are confused by the gift," the stranger beside his bed stated; the certainty in his voice drawing Harry's attention to him once more. "I will admit that it was guilt that prompted me to both visit you and to bring you a gift of apology. For you to understand why I feel the need to apologize to you, it is necessary for me to admit that I had been discreetly observing you whenever the opportunity arose since I first saw you hiding behind the hedges during your lunch break on the first day of term. Your chosen hiding space was directly beneath the window I sat beside in class and your behavior made me curious."

"During later observations I had taken note of the fact that Kawano's gang had been persistently stalking you but I failed to pass that information along to the faculty. If I had reported their behavior, there is a sixty percent probability that the staff would have intervened before they managed to corner you in the stairwell this past Friday. It did not occur to me that you would refuse to inform an instructor yourself while merely attempting to avoid the bullies until they lost interest in you and turned their attention to a new target due to the fact that I had collected so little data on you at that point."

"Under normal circumstances, ignoring a bully is an effective method of dealing with them but for that approach to work it is best to travel with a group. It is also advisable to inform an authority figure that you are having difficulties with another student so that they could help monitor the situation and step in when necessary to save you, or another one of their victims, from physical harm. Logic does not always govern human behavior though and I now suspect that you held little faith or trust in Seigaku's faculty due to past teachers from your previous school or schools failing to step in during incidents where you were being bullied by another student and so chose to deal with it yourself."

Harry wasn't sure if he should be weirded out by the knowledge that his visitor had been watching him without his knowledge (and wasn't that just creepy) or unsettled by the fact that the guy had correctly deduced that Harry had been bullied in the past. The fact that he had also accurately guessed his reason for not going to a teacher about the group of upperclassmen harassing him was a bit scary as well. The teachers at his primary school hadn't been all that bad but the professors at Hogwarts had well and truly killed the last of his faith and trust in authority figures between Snape's vitriol, McGonagall's dismissiveness, and Dumbledore's callousness upon expelling him.

The scraping of the chair over the floor as his visitor rose to his feet drew Harry's attention once more and he felt more than a little awkward when the guy bowed deeply and intoned, "Please forgive me for failing you, Evans-san; I was remiss in my duties as a senior when I failed to report the numerous earlier attempts that my fellow upperclassmen made to bully you."

The green-eyed freshman was completely bewildered by the older boy's actions; he had had very little experience with anyone apologizing to him for any reason. He'd had a brief taste of it since he'd come to live with the Echizens but he was still far more used to being the one doing all of the apologizing. It was rather surreal. After a full minute in which the other boy didn't straighten back up, Harry bit his lip and dropped his gaze to the slightly less blurry whiteboard and markers on his lap before he tentatively pulled out one of the markers and hunched over the board to scribble out three words on the board before he shoved it under the teen's nose since the teen wasn't looking at him.

_I'm still confused._

The teen twitched as soon as he'd read the short sentence (written in romaji since Harry still had some trouble writing the Japanese kanji characters even when he had his glasses on, let alone when he could barely see without them) before he slowly returned to an upright position. The boy then dropped back into the visitor's chair.

"What are you confused about, Evans-san?"

Harry wiped the board clear with his hand before he wrote out the most important question in his mind; _who are you?_

"How embarrassing, I had not realized I did not introduce myself," the teen murmured under his breath before he gave himself a shake and corrected his mistake. "Sumimasen, I am Inui Sadaharu and I am a third year junior high student at Seishun Gakuen. I am also a member of Seigaku's tennis club alongside Echizen Ryoma."

_And you've been stalking me since the first day of school?_

"I wasn't stalking you," Inui denied and Harry could practically hear the frown in his voice. "I enjoy solving mysteries and your behavior intrigued me. I merely observed you whenever I happened to catch a glimpse of you on campus; I never went out of my way to follow you or hunt you down. And the only reason I was the one to find you being attacked the bullies was because I was walking by the stairs at the exact moment one of them threw your things over the rail. If I had not been running two minutes late for my weekly committee meeting, I would have never known that you were in trouble."

Harry wearily scrubbed at his face with his left hand as he digested the teen's words. He then let out a silent sigh and wiped the board clean so that he could pose his next question.

_Why did you apologize if you are the one that saved me?_

"I could have prevented the altercation if I had gone to the staff with my observations sooner."

_I doubt it; they would have just cornered me once I left the school grounds instead._

"There is a seventy-two percent likelihood that you are correct," Inui agreed somewhat reluctantly.

_And they would have also gone after you once they learned that you had tattled on them._

"The probability of them learning that information would have been less than one percent since my identity would have been protected by the staff and I would not have spoken of my actions where another could potentially overhear of my involvement. Either way, it is an irrelevant argument since I did not approach the staff."

Harry absently nodded in response to that statement; there was no denying the truth in the teen's words. He then cleared the board yet again before he scribbled out another short message on the board.

_Thank you; for stopping them and for the gift._

"You're welcome, Evans-san."

_Do you know what happened to my things?_

"Yes, I handed them over to the police when they turned up at the school to investigate the incident. They will probably hold on to them as evidence until the case is closed and those involved are appropriately punished for their actions."

Harry flinched sharply in response to that revelation even as the blood drained from his face. He had not expected anyone to involve the police and he could only imagine how much of a hassle the entire thing had been on his hosts. He felt more than a little sick to his stomach as he immediately jumped to the conclusion that Mrs. Echizen would probably throw him on the first plane back to England just to get rid of him. His aunt was going to be livid when she learned just how much of a burden Harry was being to her old friend; something she has specifically warned him not to do.

"There is no reason to panic, Evans-san; Seigaku has a very strict policy regarding bullies and violence on campus. Your attackers have been suspended from school for the duration of the investigation with a high probability of being expelled due to the severity of your injuries. The faculty will also be extra vigilant to insure any sympathizers make no attempts to cause you further harm in retaliation for the six upperclassmen that were caught attacking you."

Harry sent Inui a flat look in reply but didn't get a chance to write out a retort due to the arrival of the doctor. The teen was politely kicked out at that point and Harry was left to the almost-but-not-quite tender mercies of the rather stern doctor.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Evans-san; are you in any pain?"

The one-eyed boy's automatic attempt to deny the existence of the lingering pain in his abdomen and the dull ache behind his right eye was nipped before he could complete the first head shake by the illusion of a dark aura forming around the man. Harry aborted the head shake and hastily scribbled out a messy '_just a little_' on the whiteboard that Inui Sadaharu had given to him.

"Where does it hurt?"

Harry's answer was to shift his left hand down to lightly rest on his bruised stomach. The doctor hummed an acknowledgement as if that was the answer he had expected before he firmly pushed Harry back down on the bed and pulled his hospital gown up out of the way so he could carefully probe Harry's abdomen with his hands.

"I am not surprised to hear that you are still in pain; your internal organs were severely bruised from the multiple blows you received. Your stomach received the worst of the damage and I expect you will have some trouble eating for another week or so while the deep bruises heal. Until the worst of the damage has been healed, you will need to avoid eating or drinking large amounts of food or drinks in one sitting or you will aggravate the delicate the injury. Ideally, you should eat several small meals over the course of the day; consuming no more than two or three ounces total at each meal until your stomach has sufficiently healed."

"I would also suggest sticking to easily digested foods; such as soups, steamed rice, and tofu. You'll want to avoid red meat and those vegetables that are hard to digest; such as corn or celery. If you do chose to eat vegetables; do not eat them raw. Lastly, try to avoid spicy or heavily seasoned dishes and greasy foods like fried bacon or French fries. If at all possible, you want to avoid making yourself sick because vomiting will place a considerable amount of physical stress on the muscles of your stomach. Understand?"

Harry numbly nodded to show he understood the doctor's instructions when the man paused for a moment, "Good, we'll be monitoring you closely after your first few meals to make certain the damage is not more extensive then we originally estimated it to be based upon the ultrasounds that were taken when you first arrived. So long as you experience no difficulties digesting at least three such small meals, I will discharge you later this afternoon so you can recover at home where you will feel more comfortable."

That little tidbit had Harry perking up a bit (the prospect of escaping the hospital a pleasant thought) until he recalled just how much trouble he was causing the Echizens. A quick discharge from the hospital inevitably would mean it would be all that much sooner that he would find himself on an airplane back to England. Not that he would blame them for getting rid of him at the first available opportunity; he knew that there were very few people who were willing to tolerate the burden of his presence for any significant length of time.

The doctor either didn't notice Harry's lack of enthusiasm over his pending discharge or he chose to ignore it as he pulled the hospital gown back down over Harry's stomach before he began to gently prod at Harry's tender nose instead. The man hummed a few times before he dropped his hands and took out a pen light that he flashed at Harry's eyes (though it only garnered a reaction from his left eye due to the extensive damage that had been done to his right eye).

"The slight swelling along the bridge of your nose has finally gone down and so long as you avoid taking any additional hits to the face while it is still tender, you shouldn't have to worry about any lingering problems there once the bruises fade. I am somewhat concerned about your right eye; the deforming scar tissue running through the orb is not something I have ever come across in the past. Is there any reason why the doctor that initially treated that injury didn't just remove the eye entirely?"

Harry's breath hitched at the blunt reminder of the gruesome appearance of his ruined right eye. The once leaf-green iris had been almost completely obliterated alongside the pupil of that eye; the basilisk's fang had torn through the delicate tissue and the basilisk's venom had burned through the optical nerves inside of his eye. The end result was that he had a grayish-pink colored and slightly indented groove that cut through the center of the orb; leaving just the smallest sliver of green visible on the right side of the iris.

The damage done to his right eye lid by both the fang and the venom had also destroyed the nerves in the eye-lid; leaving the eye lid completely numb. That numbness made it difficult for Harry to control the eye lid or recognize when the eye lid was open; since he couldn't rely upon changes in lighting to help him gauge whether his eye was open or not. It was because of that problem that Harry had started wearing an eye patch to hide his damaged eye.

Shaking his head to dispel the memory of both the scar and the cause of said scar, Harry shrugged in response to the doctor's question; he had no idea why Madam Pomfrey hadn't just vanished the eye. What Harry didn't know, was that the healing tears that the phoenix had cried on his face (and directly on the eye) had prevented the witch from removing the eye using magic due to the potent healing magics in the tears combined with the destructive magic in the basilisk's venom and it would not have occurred to her to surgically remove it.

The doctor frowned at Harry for a moment before he asked, "Do you know if your primary doctor or your guardians filed a request for a glass eye or a transplant to replace the damaged orb? That's the only reason I can think of why a surgeon would have left the damaged eye in place."

Harry blinked; he hadn't even known it was possible to have an eye transplant. He then shook his head no and shrugged his shoulders since he had no clue if any one else had even considered replacing his damaged eye or not. He wasn't really sure how he would feel about having someone else's eye rolling about in his head and it sounded rather weird to have his eye replaced with a glass fake.

"If they haven't, it is something you should consider asking them to do for you if the appearance of your ruined eye bothers you as much as it appears to, based on the way you have actively been avoiding looking in my direction since I walked into the room." Harry cringed in response to that rather accurate observation. "It is something to think about in any case. Did you have any questions for me while I am here? No? Then I will go make arrangements for one of the nurses to deliver your breakfast to you."

The conflicted pre-teen sat alone in silence for all of three minutes before his room is invaded by a pair of adults wearing blurry dark blue uniforms. One of them remained by the door while the other approached the bed; his shoes steadily tapping against the floor filled Harry with a sense of dread. He couldn't help but cringe when the man finally reached his bedside and he noticed the blurry official looking patch attached to the man's uniform jacket sleeve that identified the man as a policeman.

"Good morning, Evans-kun; I am Officer Hirohito Satoshi and behind me is my partner, Officer Awashima Jiro. The two of us have been tasked with investigating the attack that landed you in the hospital. If you are feeling up to it, then I would like to interview you about the incident in question."

Harry squirmed beneath the man's gaze while keeping his face averted. He felt distinctly uncomfortable with the way the man was practically looming over him. He also had no clue on how to interact with the officer since he'd never spoken to a policeman in the past.

"If it would make you feel more comfortable, we can come back when one of your guardians are present," Officer Hirohito offered gently when Harry still hadn't responded after a couple of minutes. Said offer only had Harry adamantly shaking his head no; he didn't want to cause any more trouble for the Echizens than he already had. "In that case, do I have your permission to record the interview for documentary purposes?"

That question actually had Harry jerking his head up to stare at the man in confusion before he quickly dropped his face once more when the man sucked in a sharp breath in response to seeing Harry's ruined eye and his scarred throat for the first time (the man had previously only seen the facial scar while Harry had been unconscious as his neck and eye had both been covered at the time). Pressing his lips together, Harry wiped the whiteboard clean once more so he could ask the man what the point there was recording the interview when his answers would not be verbalized. The wording of his question was far more indirect, however.

_You are aware of the fact that I can't speak, ne?_

"Sumimasen, Evans-kun, I was actually not aware of that," Officer Hirohito replied more than a little sheepishly once he'd read what Harry had written. "However, that should not impede the effectiveness of recording your interview as I can have my partner read off your answers so they can be documented for review; providing you give me permission to tape the interview."

Harry shrugged his shoulders and slowly nodded in response to that before he cleared the board and wrote, _okay._

"Arigatou, Evans-kun," Officer Hirohito murmured as he gestured for his partner to join him even as he dug out a small hand-held tape recorder from his pocket. He then checked the tape, turned the machine on, and lifted the device up to his mouth before intoning, "Interview of Evans Harold, age twelve, of the junior high freshman class one dash two at Seishun Gakuen in regards to case number c-six-six-four-five involving a violent attack on the school's campus on Friday, April, Sixteenth, nineteen ninety-three between three-ten and three-twenty-five in the afternoon."

"Today's date is; Sunday, April, eighteenth, nineteen-ninety-three. The time is seven-thirty-two a.m. Interviewer is Officer Hirohito Satoshi. Verbalizing Evans Harold's written responses is Officer Awashima Jiro due to Evans being incapable of answering verbally…"

The next hour was rather grueling for Harry as Officer Hirohito grilled him endlessly about the attack, about his earlier interactions with the bullies, and a dozen other topics that seemed to have nothing to do with what happened. He did have a small fifteen minute break when the nurse arrived with his breakfast but he had not really been able to enjoy the short break because the officers had remained in the room with him while he ate. The discomfort caused by actually eating hadn't really helped either; his bruised stomach had not thanked him for the admittedly tiny meal.

Once the ordeal was over, both officers thanked him and took their leave and Harry happily curled up to nap for roughly two hours before he was woken up by the doctor's return. The man spent several minutes checking Harry's stomach again while asking him all kinds of questions about the amount of pain he was in, if his meager breakfast had made him feel sick or increased the amount of pain he was in, and if he felt hungry. By the time the doctor had finished, the nurse had returned once more with another small serving of food and this time it was the doctor that watched him eat.

Another short nap would follow until he was woken up by the nurse when she brought him his lunch. His room would be invaded by the Echizen family just two minutes after he'd finished eating and Harry automatically shrank in on himself the moment he realized exactly who was in the room with him.

"Yokatta," Mrs. Echizen breathed in relief as she strode right up to the bed and cupped Harry's cheek in one hand before he registered that her hand was moving. He was further shocked when the woman pulled him towards her so she could engulf him in a gentle hug as she murmured, "I was so worried when the school called to notify me that you'd been attacked by a group of older students and I feared that you'd been far more seriously hurt when I was informed that you'd been admitted to the hospital."

"Mattaku," Mr. Echizen complained in a teasing tone as he walked up and lightly poked Harry in the forehead over his wife's shoulder. "You had us all worried what with the way you were trying to sleep away the entire weekend. I was beginning to think you were just looking for an excuse to stay in the hospital and ogle the nurses."

"Behave yourself, Nanjiro," Mrs. Echizen chided with fond exasperation as she released Harry and held him at arms length in order to inspect his face. "You could have told us that you were having trouble with bullies at school, Hari-kun; we would have helped you." She let out a gusty sigh when Harry simply ducked his head and squired uncomfortably in response. "I suppose that's another thing we're going to have to work on while you are staying with us."

That comment actually surprised Harry; he had been so certain that she was going to ship him back to his aunt after what had happened. The rest of the visit passed by in a blur of confusion for the former wizard and before he knew it, he was being released from the hospital and given a slue of prescriptions and strict orders from the doctor before the Echizens took him back to their home. They made only one stop on the way home, to take Harry to an optometrist to purchase a new pair of glasses to replace his old ones that had been broken beyond repair and a new eye patch to hide his right eye.

* * *

**Translations:** Japanese to English

Arigatou – thank you  
Mattaku - sheesh, yeesh, jeez, 'oh for heaven's sake', etc; general expression of annoyance  
Ne – used to solicit agreement or confirmation from the listener similar to using 'isn't it?' or 'right?' in English  
Seishun Gakuen – Seishun Academy (Seigaku for short)  
Sumimasen – I'm sorry (formal)  
Yokatta – an expression of relief, usually translates as 'I'm so glad' or 'thank goodness!'

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**10-02-15:** _Minor edits made to chapter to fix spelling/grammar mistakes and removed unnecessary author's notes._


	4. Turning Over a New Leaf

**Disclaimer:** _I used to write out a very specific disclaimer explaining exactly what it is I don't own but I find myself not really interested in doing so as it is very tedious. Suffice it to say I own nothing that was created by anyone else and I am making no money whatsoever from the writing of this FanFiction._

**Warnings:** _Mild to moderate violence, character death, foul language, alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon from both worlds goodbye), angst, drama, and who knows what else. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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Chapter Four: Turning Over a New Leaf

_Wednesday, April 21, 1993, Morning  
Seishun Gakuen, Tokyo, Japan_

Harry slowed to a stop as he and Ryoma arrived at the school; he was finally returning to school after he had spent all of Monday and Tuesday resting and recovering from the beating he'd taken. Mrs. Echizen would have preferred to keep him home for the rest of the week as well but Harry couldn't stand the sheer boredom of doing nothing all day long for even one more day. He also didn't like the way both women in the house had fussed over him whenever they were home.

At the same time, Harry didn't know how he felt about returning to Seigaku.

In the end, it was the stubborn Gryffindor that lived in his heart that had him straightening his shoulders and stepping through the entrance of the school grounds. After all, a mere school yard beating was no where near as frightening as a fifteen foot tall flesh-eating troll, a three headed hellhound, or a Dark Lord possessed professor bent on sacrificing him in the name of the parasite on the back of his head. And if nearly dying at the hands of Quirrell and Voldemort hadn't sent him fleeing with his tail between his legs (and it hadn't; he had not fled the wizarding world, he'd been kicked out of it), then why should a few bruises have him quivering in fear now?

The moment Harry had consciously made the decision to stop letting his fear rule his life, he took his first step towards finally healing from the trauma inflicted on him by his encounter with Quirrell and Voldemort down in the bowels of Hogwarts. At the same time, the submissive posture he'd adopted to escape notice melted from his frame as he held his head high for the first time in just over seven months. Any insecurities relating to his scars faded from his conscious mind as well; though that didn't mean he wouldn't feel uncomfortable with people staring at them at times.

The effect of his newly reclaimed confidence was immediately noticed by the other students as more than one of them did a double-take the moment they noticed him. News of his return and the now clearly visible scar on his face flew through the student grapevine like wildfire and it wasn't long before people were going out of their way to get a good look at him to confirm the rumors. Ryoma smirked at him from where he was walking beside the one-eyed freshman; the slightly younger boy sticking to his side for once (by order of his mother and strictly due to the fact that he had been excused from morning practice that day).

Despite his new outlook on life, Harry still ignored most everyone and avoided all physical contact. He may have found his missing courage and confidence but that didn't mean he felt any more comfortable with others touching him than he had the prior evening. The fact that Mrs. Echizen had started doling out hugs without warning several times a day had only made him even more observant in order to prevent any one else from thinking they too could take such liberties. The only reason he didn't ask Mrs. Echizen to stop or try to sidestep her was because he still felt guilty about being such a burden on her and her family.

He refused to acknowledge the little child in him that _liked_ being hugged by a mother figure least he grow too attached to the Echizens and get burned for it; he'd lived with the Dursleys for far too long to completely ignore those insecurities.

"I'm surprised you haven't tried to slink off on your own yet," Ryoma remarked as they made their way to the administration office so that Harry could submit the doctor's note that would clear his absences of the past two days and excuse him from all physical activities for the rest of the week and all of the next week (limited though those activities had been in the first place).

_Would you have let me?_ Harry asked using the whiteboard that Inui had gifted him.

"No, but I thought you'd try at least once."

_I figured there was no point in trying after I heard your mother order you to keep an eye on me. _

"Good call," Ryoma quipped as he flashed another smirk at Harry. "Does that mean you aren't going to try and sneak off on your own at lunch like you usually do?"

Harry grimaced in response to that rather smart-mouthed inquiry before he responded with a question of his own; _you would just hunt me down if I did, wouldn't you?_

"Of course."

_Won't your friends be annoyed if you drag me to lunch with you?_

"No, I already warned them that I'd be bringing you. Ryuzaki-sensei and Tezuka-buchou both already gave me their permission to bring you to practice every day as well; you just have to stay off the courts because you aren't an official club member. Oh, and that includes morning practices too; not counting today."

_Joy_, Harry replied; though the sarcasm he mentally inflected in the word was lost the moment the word was written on the whiteboard. Ryoma picked up on it anyway if Harry was reading the smug grin on his face correctly. Harry let out a silent huff but otherwise ignored the other boy's smug superiority.

Their conversation ended at that point as the two of them left the office and headed for the building where their first class was located and slipped inside behind a pair of female juniors dressed in the green and white skirted sailor uniforms that the female students were required to wear. Harry didn't really pay that much attention to the path they were traveling to reach their room until he was given a rather blunt reminder that the stairwell they were in was the one he'd been trapped on during the incident.

That reminder came in the form of two large, handmade banners that had been taped to the wall. One wished him a quick recovery and the other welcomed him back to school. Both of them were covered in hundreds of signatures; most of the names unfamiliar to him. Beneath the two signs were a slue of handmade gifts (such as good luck charms and cards), little mini-bouquets of flowers, homemade candies and treats, and other assorted trinkets. Lined up off to one side of the signs and gifts, were three boys and two girls; all five of them freshmen he'd frequently seen hanging around Ryoma.

"Welcome back, Evans-san!" one of the girls, the one with twin ponytails, squealed while the other girl and the three boys echoed her in a more subdued and rather nervous tone. She then eagerly introduced herself and the other four freshmen in the group. "I'm Osakada Tomoka and this is Ryuzaki Sakuno, Horio Satoshi, Mizuno Katsuo, and Kato Kachiro."

Harry palmed his face with his right hand even as his left hand unconsciously reached out to slap Ryoma on the back of the head when the jerk began snickering at him under his breath; a habit Harry had developed when he had still been friends with Ron Weasley. After taking a moment to collect himself, Harry dropped his hand and scribbled out a short complaint that he thrust at Ryoma.

_You could have warned me, teme._

"I could have but then I would have missed the free entertainment," Ryoma quipped with a smirk as he pulled the bill of his cap down to half hide his obvious amusement.

_Was that a confession that you were responsible for organizing this spectacle?_

"No, I was just asked to make sure you came this way first when you returned to school."

_My revenge shall be suitably painful and public when I am finished._

Ryoma didn't say anything in reply but Harry knew the jerk was still laughing at him.

By the time that short exchange had ended, the other five freshmen had gotten over their first real glimpse of Harry's scarred face and the rather shy girl with her long, dark auburn hair done up in twin braids (the one he thought was named Ryuzaki Sakuno) finally got up the courage to address him, "Ano, Evans-san; you aren't angry… are you? About… about the signs and stuff, that is."

The girl turned bright red in embarrassment the moment Harry focused his attention on her but still somehow managed to get the entire question out. He then tipped his head to the side in contemplation before he slowly shook his head no; he wasn't angry. Embarrassed and uncomfortable…? Yes. Angry…? No. And he stated as much on the whiteboard when it became obvious that she hadn't been at all reassured by his head shake.

That admission opened the floodgates and all five of his fellow freshmen began apologizing to him for the things they'd said over the first few weeks of school and for thinking ill of him. The entire situation was just as bewildering now as it had been when Inui had apologized to him in the hospital three days earlier and Harry couldn't do anything but stare at the group in utter confusion. After the first two minutes, Harry's confusion was slowly morphing into panic due to his inability to comprehend their motives and he took an unconscious step backwards as if to flee.

His back step would have seen him taking a tumble down the stairs (since he'd forgotten where he was standing) if not for the brick wall that was standing in his way. The strangeness of hitting a brick wall in the middle of a staircase where he was certain there hadn't been one just a few minutes earlier snapped Harry out of his panic as he jumped away from the wall and whipped around. His sudden movement also put an end to the garbled apologies that had been thrown his way by the other twelve year olds on the stairs.

Harry didn't really register the sudden silence though as his attention was on the tall (he towered over Harry by well over a foot) teen he'd just backed into on accident. The older boy, aside from being taller and obviously older than Harry, had black spiky hair, wore thick rectangular glasses that made it difficult to make out his eyes, and had the best poker face Harry had ever seen. The guy's expression was so flat that it didn't look like he was capable of feeling emotions.

And Harry had just bumped into him.

The distinct possibility that he might have just ticked off yet another upperclassman that might feel the need to make Harry's life utterly miserable for who knew how long made Harry cringe. He then scrambled to scribble out a hasty apology on his whiteboard only to nearly drop both the board and the marker when the other six freshmen in the stairwell with him addressed the teen by name and with obvious warmth (bar Ryoma who usually sounded bored and disinterested no matter who he was talking to unless he was amused or in the middle of taunting someone).

"Ohayo, Inui-sempai!"

Harry blinked twice and once again tipped his head sideways as he glanced up to take another look at the teen. Inui Sadaharu. He was the same teen that had stopped by to see him while he was still in the hospital and the one who had intervened when the bullies had been beating him senseless. The same teen that had given him the whiteboard he now used almost exclusively for making conversation so he wouldn't have to spend so much money on notebooks or paper.

And while there was a good chance that his visitor wasn't the only one with the last name of Inui in the school, the familiarity that Ryoma had greeted the upperclassman with was confirmation that it was the same teen. That certainty was due to the fact that Inui had clearly stated that he was in the Tennis Club with Ryoma and that the older boy was on friendly enough terms with Ryoma for Ryoma to pass along news regarding Harry's condition to the teen.

"Ohayo," Inui replied in a familiar deep voice that lacked almost all inflection; confirmation that Harry had been correct in his assumption that it was the same boy. The teen then glanced downwards towards Harry's hands as he added, "I am glad to see that my gift to you has been as useful as I had hoped it would be."

"Nani…? When did you give Evans a gift, Inui-sempai?" the loudest of the freshmen dramatically demanded, the one Harry thought was named Horio. "And what did you give him?"

"I gave him the whiteboard and a pack of dry-erase markers when I went to visit him in the hospital on Sunday," Inui replied as he shot the rather nosy freshman a brief glance. "I was a bit surprised to learn that you would be returning today though, Evans-san; my calculations had your injuries keeping you out at least another week."

_I heal fast and the bruises looked far worse than they actually were,_ Harry wrote in response. _And yes, your gift has been very useful. Thank you again for giving it to me._

Inui nodded in acknowledgement before he addressed the group as a whole once more, "You should probably get the stairwell cleared up now and head to class or you are going to be late."

While the others scrambled to take down the banners and pack the gifts into a box that had been brought for just that purpose, Harry cleared his board and wrote out one last message for the senior; _I'm sorry for bumping into you again just now_.

"No apology is necessary; I was only too happy to divert the disaster that would have occurred if you had fallen down the stairs instead," Inui replied as he dug out a notebook from his bag and began writing in it. And then without saying another word, the teen continued up the stairs; leaving Harry to stare after him in confusion.

"Don't take Inui-sempai's abrupt departure personally; that's just the way he is," Ryoma quietly advised him and Harry automatically nodded in acceptance even if that explanation had not cleared away any of his confusion.

Two minutes later, Harry had the box containing the two banners and the assortment of gifts in hand (much to his confusion) and the seven of them hurried up the rest of the way to the second floor so they could get to class before the bell rang. The moment he stepped into the room, all of the students present spun around to stare at him and Harry briefly considered reacquainting himself with his Slytherin side and making a tactical withdrawal (read; flee in terror) but missed his chance when the instructor arrived and ordered everyone to take their seats.

Harry's box of mementos was soon relegated to a shelf in the cabinets for the remainder of the day (so he wouldn't have to worry about carrying it around with him all the time) before he sat down. Ten minutes later, he gratefully sank into the familiar routine of solving complex math equations after the instructor had finished thoroughly embarrassing him in front of the rest of the class when he publicly welcomed Harry back before starting the lesson. It was a humiliating experience that would be repeated by each and every single one of their instructors and their solidarity in doing so convinced Harry that the staff was plotting against him and nothing Ryoma said could make him believe otherwise.

And the annoying jerk had only laughed at him _again_ once he'd read Harry's comments on the faculty's conspiracy.

It made Harry wonder who the hell had extracted the stick from Ryoma's backside as he didn't recall the kid being any where near this relaxed or playful just last week. That almost made Harry wonder if the new Ryoma was actually an impostor that hadn't done enough homework on his target. Of course, when Harry scribbled that theory down in passing, Ryoma had given him a deadpanned stare before bluntly calling him a paranoid bastard. Harry, in turn, had arched an eyebrow and pointed out that Ryoma had denied the accusation; which had only made the jerk roll his eyes.

Not long after that exchange, Harry realized that he was treating Ryoma like he was Ron (as a friend) and that revelation hit Harry like a ton of bricks. By lunchtime, Harry had completely withdrawn once more (his renewed moodiness both very obvious and very familiar to those around him) as he attempted to reevaluate his priorities. He would have gone off on his own for the meal break if not for Ryoma stubbornly sticking to his side. The other five freshmen he'd been reintroduced to this morning weren't far behind and Harry mostly ignored their lunchtime conversations despite their half-hearted attempts to include him.

He would remain rather broody during the afternoon classes too, as he struggled between his desire to avoid forming new bonds that could leave him open to betrayal once again and his growing need for a friend that wouldn't abandon him. He still hadn't resolved anything by the end of sixth period and found himself moving on autopilot to collect the box of gifts and cards out of the cupboard of his math classroom.

He would have slunk off alone at that point to brood some more if it wasn't for Ryoma snagging hold of his sleeve and dragging him with him to the school's library where Ryoma usually spent an hour every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon reshelving books as part of his duties as a member of the Library Committee. Harry almost protested but in the end decided that it just too troublesome to put in the effort. Once in the library, Harry ignored Ryoma and instead started in on the make-up work that he'd been assigned throughout the day to cover what he'd missed over the past two days.

The mind-numbing busy work was just what he needed to silence his inner turmoil and Harry was soon lost in a world of computation, conjugation, and the scientific method. He was so wrapped up in his work that he nearly jumped out of his skin (and his seat) in fright when Ryoma dropped a hand on his shoulder some forty-eight minutes later and told him it was time to head to the tennis courts. Mouthing silent curses at the other boy for sneaking up on him like that, Harry quickly gathered up his things and shoved them into his book bag before he grabbed the box of trinkets and followed Ryoma out the door.

Once they arrived at the courts, Ryoma dragged Harry towards a group of teens all dressed in blue and white jerseys and an older woman wearing a pink and purple track suit with a pale blue polo shirt underneath the jacket. The woman turned out to be the Tennis Club's coach, Ryuzaki Sumire, and the stern look in her eyes when Ryoma introduced him to her reminded Harry of Madam Hooch (the Flying Instructor and Quidditch Coach at Hogwarts). The woman was far nicer than expected though as she told him that he was more than welcome to hang around the courts as long as he didn't cause trouble.

Harry was then introduced to the seven teens that were on the school's official tennis team (called the Regulars by all members of the Tennis Club and who represented the eight best players in the club) with Ryoma. There was the captain, a rather stern teen by the name of Tezuka Kunimitsu who looked older than his actual age. Then there was the vice captain of the team, Oishi Shuichiro, who appeared to be the exact opposite of Tezuka. The names of the other five players all blurred together in Harry's mind as there wasn't really any titles assigned to them that would make them stand out.

Ryoma didn't bother introducing any of the other members of the club since most of them were already on the courts warming up. Harry also hadn't needed to be introduced to Inui; who he learned was the acting manager of the club and his duties included creating and monitoring the exercise routines that each of the players but most especially those of the Regulars as they prepared for an up coming competition.

Nor did his fellow freshman bother taking him over to meet any of the scouts (and more than a few spies) that were spread out along the fence surrounding each set of courts observing the club's practice. Thankfully, the spies and scouts congregated around the courts weren't paying any mind to Harry; they were only there to spy on the Regulars.

On the whole, Harry wasn't sure what to make of the tennis club and he thought a few of them might actually make Oliver 'Obsessed-with-Quidditch' Wood look relatively sane.

Just a few minutes after the introductions were finished and the team was sent off to warm up, Harry retreated behind the nearest row of hedges and stretched out in the shadows to nap for the duration of Ryoma's tennis practice. Only four people would take note of him slipping into the bushes; Ryoma, Inui, Coach Ryuzaki, and Tezuka. Out of those four individuals, only Inui and Ryoma were not surprised by Harry's decision to hide himself away instead of watching the club members train.

However, the coach was the only one actually concerned by his behavior; the woman making plans to report the matter to principle at the first opportunity. Her reason for doing so was because the entire faculty had been requested to keep an eye on the recently injured freshmen and report any suspected problems during a recent staff meeting. And Harry's reclusive behavior (which had previously gone unnoticed by the staff) was a concern since he was basically avoiding the rest of the student body to hide.

Harry was blissfully unaware of the attention as he happily drifted off to sleep with the scent of fresh air and moist dirt filling his lungs with each breath. He would be jolted from his nap an hour and a half later when someone lightly kicked his foot a couple of times to get his attention. He groggily sat up and sleepily blinked at Inui's somewhat familiar visage before he registered how low the sun was in the sky. Realizing that practice must have ended, Harry absently nodded to the senior in thanks for the wake-up call before he stretched out his sleep stiffened muscles and crawled out of the bushes.

"You have leaves in your hair," Ryoma commented as he appeared beside Harry once he'd changed out of his tennis uniform. Harry blinked at him before he simply shrugged in response (completely unconcerned with the leaves decorating the rat's nest that doubled as his hair) and carefully leaned down to collect his things. Ryoma huffed and muttered out an exasperated, "Mada, mada dane."

Once Harry had his things, the two of them then headed toward the front entrance of the school. They were soon joined by a somewhat familiar junior wheeling a bike that Harry vaguely recalled being introduced to earlier. The guy, whose name Harry couldn't remember, struck up a conversation with Ryoma regarding practice and Harry tuned them out after a couple of minutes. It wasn't until he heard the older boy calling his name repeatedly that Harry once again recalled his current company and Harry shook the cobwebs from his mind as he glanced at the junior.

"– ou play tennis, Evans? Evans…? Oi, earth to Evans! Ah, finally! I was beginning to think we'd lost you completely there for a moment. Anyway, do you play tennis?"

Harry shook his head no in response to the question and the teen nearly dropped his bike when he tripped over his own feet in surprise to Harry's answer.

"You don't play tennis at all? Do you play any sports?"

Two more negative head shakes were given in back to back succession.

"How could you not play any sports?"

Harry stopped walking and twisted sideways so that the eye patch covering his right eye was clearly visible before arching his left eyebrow as if to ask the guy if he was really that dense. Ryoma snickered in obvious amusement when the junior became flustered by his obvious faux pas before he made an attempt to cover up his mistake.

"Well, what about before that… wasn't there a sport you played before you lost an eye?"

Harry's heart ached as he thought of the numerous hours he'd spent in the air on his broom at Quidditch practices during his only year at Hogwarts. That brought to mind the thrill he'd felt as he chased after the snitch and the excitement he had felt during the handful of actual games he'd played. Aching for what he'd lost yet again, Harry sharply shook his head no (he couldn't exactly tell them about Quidditch anyway) and dropped his gaze to the ground to hide the longing he felt for that which had been stolen from him; his magic.

"Not even during P.E.?" Ryoma asked with some surprise.

Harry just shrugged in response; the few times he'd played sports in primary had not exactly been pleasant since he'd always been picked last, was ignored by any teammates, or blatantly attacked by his opponent in one on one games. The only thing he'd ever really been any good at (aside from flying and Quidditch) had been running because of how often he had been chased by Dudley and his gang during recesses, lunch, and after school.

The former wizard was saved from the impromptu inquisition by their arrival outside of the Echizen's place. His luck held out even longer when Ryoma invited the junior (whose name Harry _still_ couldn't remember) to play a few games of tennis up on the rough court that Mr. Echizen had put up at the shrine the old man was temporarily watching over as a favor to a monk. Harry used the opportunity to retreat to his guest room so he could change out of his school uniform and do a little more of his make-up work before supper.

He was interrupted roughly an hour later when Mrs. Echizen knocked on the wall outside the rice paper sliding door to the room and announced that supper was ready. He entered the kitchen six minutes later just as Ryoma was introducing his fellow tennis player to his parents and cousin and Harry soon learned that his name was Momoshiro Takeshi but he preferred to be addressed as Momo. The presence of a guest (Momo invited to stay for the meal by Mrs. Echizen) meant that Harry was not the center of Mrs. Echizen's attention for the meal; giving him a nice short break from her mothering.

Immediately after the meal (small though his portion was since his stomach was still not fully healed), Harry took a quick shower, wished for a jar of bruise balm for the umpteenth time when he caught sight of his bruised torso in the mirror, and promptly went to bed.

Thursday and Friday would pass long in a similar vein; minus the parts where he was introduced to people that Ryoma had been interacting with since the start of term and with the addition of Harry tagging along to Ryoma's morning tennis practices. Harry mostly ignored the world around him as he tried to deal with his internal conflict over his desire to avoid getting burned by false friends and his growing need for companionship. As a result, most of the attention he'd been garnering since he stopped actively trying to hide the scars on his face quickly tapered off once people realized that his personality hadn't really done a one-eighty; he was just a touch less insecure.

Ryoma's persistence in sticking to Harry's side between classes and after school occasionally grated on Harry's nerves but he mostly tolerated his presence since it made Mrs. Echizen happy. His main reason for wishing to keep the Echizen matriarch happy was because a happy Mrs. Echizen was far less likely to fuss over him than a worried or unhappy Mrs. Echizen. The only draw back was the amusement Ryoma and Mr. Echizen both got out of Harry's efforts. Not that they were any different since neither one of them wished Mrs. Echizen's ire to be directed at them.

The weekend would bring with it a welcome break from school and an opportunity for blessed solitude (providing he didn't leave the immediate property). Ryoma disappeared both days; his fellow freshman had tennis practice on Saturday and an important tennis match on Sunday. Harry had originally expected the rest of the Echizen family to go with Ryoma to watch the game but apparently Ryoma preferred his parents not to watch him play. (Something about avoiding extra criticism from his father, who had played tennis professionally when he was younger.)

The restrictions placed on Harry (temporary though they were since they were only there because of his recent injuries) were actually easy to ignore due to how large of a property the Echizen's current home sat on. That wasn't even counting the rather large chunk of land that belonged to the shrine that Mr. Echizen was looking after (which had been included within the boundaries that Mrs. Echizen had given Harry until he fully recovered). That meant that there was more than enough room for Harry to wander around and get lost without once going 'out of bounds'.

Harry would spend most of the weekend hidden away in various trees around the estate bird watching; the green-eyed pre-teen missing Hedwig fiercely. The only times he returned to the house were to eat or at night once it drew close to his bed time. It was nice and relaxing and the only disturbance had been a pair of visitors that had come to see Mr. Echizen on Saturday afternoon but Harry hadn't even needed to deal with the couple since Nanako had been home at the time. Harry would later learn the pair had been a reporter and a photographer with some sports magazine and he was doubly happy with his decision to avoid them; he didn't need or want any publicity.

He'd had more than enough that crazy type of attention when he was still at Hogwarts.

And again after the attack on the school grounds a week earlier; though, at least his name and photo had been kept out of the newspaper by Mrs. Echizen and the school.

Harry had put the two publicity workers out of his mind shortly after that (he didn't expect to ever see them again) and simply enjoyed the rest of his peaceful weekend. Monday would bring with it a return to his previous schedule and lack of solitude right up until the bell rang to signal the end of sixth period. The reason for the change was strictly due to the commencement of his tri-weekly counseling sessions that were to take place during the period that was usually devoted to committee duties and activities. The session would then run half into the after school club activities.

The former wizard wasn't certain how he felt about being 'required' to attend sessions with a psychologist since more than sixty percent of his issues stemmed from magic; a topic that he was not allowed to broach with the counselor. He also had no desire to 'explore' his darker memories or 'get in touch' with his feelings. Thus, when sixth period ended on Monday afternoon, it was with great reluctance that Harry allowed Ryoma to escort him to the counselor's office within the administration building (since the younger boy still refused to let him go anywhere alone).

Ryoma left him just outside the counselor's door a few minutes later.

* * *

**Translations:** Japanese to English

Buchou – captain  
Mada, mada dane – Ryoma's catch phrase and has multiple translations such as 'you still have a long way to go', 'not good enough', 'still no good', 'it's not over yet', or 'you still have lots more to work on'  
Oi – hey  
Teme – bastard/jerk (rude way of saying you)

**Notes:**

Faux pas – a social gaff or embarrassing social mistake (such as asking an invasive question at an inopportune time or arriving too early or too late for a meeting)

* * *

**10-02-15:** _Minor edits made to chapter to fix spelling/grammar mistakes and removed unnecessary author's notes._


	5. Of Small Talk and Small Annoyances

**Disclaimer:** _I used to write out a very specific disclaimer explaining exactly what it is I don't own but I find myself not really interested in doing so as it is very tedious. Suffice it to say I own nothing that was created by anyone else and I am making no money whatsoever from the writing of this FanFiction._

**Warnings:** _Mild to moderate violence, character death, foul language, alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon from both worlds goodbye), angst, drama, and who knows what else. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

Chapter Five: Of Small Talk and Small Annoyances

_Monday, April 26, 1993, Mid-Afternoon  
Seishun Gakuen, Tokyo, Japan_

Harry watched Ryoma trot off to the library and almost wished the other boy was dragging him along like he had done last Wednesday and Friday. A silent sigh escaped him as he reluctantly pulled his gaze away from the rapidly vanishing boy and let his single usable eye land on the black symbols and letters on the frosted window of the door that declared the room beyond to be the counselor's office. Harry wrinkled his nose as he eyed the door with distrust.

To say Harry was a little nervous about meeting with the counselor for the first time would be an understatement; he was almost scared of the upcoming meeting. He was more than a little worried about talking to the man for fear that he'd slip up and reveal the existence of magicals to him; something that would undoubtedly get him in deep trouble with the local magical government once they learned about the breach. After all, the Statute of Secrecy was the one thing that all magicals world wide (regardless of nationality) had agreed was necessary; though how they went about enacting and enforcing it varied from country to country.

Harry let out another bone weary sigh that went unheard before he squared his shoulders and lifted his hand to knock upon the door. His knuckles were but a hairsbreadth away from the wooden construct when he heard a voice calling out his name from behind him.

"Ah, you must be Evans Harold; my three-thirty appointment. I was not expecting you to arrive quite so early."

Harry dropped his arm and spun around so he could peer up at the man. The man had messy straw-blond, goldish-brown eyes that sparkled with warmth, and he was wearing a pair of casual brown slacks and a white dress shirt. He was not at all what he had expected for a psychologist and he would have thought him to be someone else if not for the fact that he had addressed Harry by name and mentioned an appointment. Once he'd finished his visual inspection of the man, Harry shuffled back away from the door so he was not in the man's way and absently nodded to confirm the man's assumption.

"Allow me to introduce myself," the man murmured as he watched Harry retreat. "I am Natsume Takashi; Seigaku's on-site counselor. Please come in and have a seat so we can start."

Harry reached up to scratch the back of his head in response to the man's rather upbeat personality before he hesitantly offered him an awkward bow in greeting as he'd been taught by his Japanese instructor. He then waited for Mr. Natsume to enter the room first before he reluctantly followed him into his office. Once inside, he watched Mr. Natsume take a seat at his desk before he took the time to locate any potential entrances and exits, memorize the layout of the furniture, and note the out of place video camera and an office easel with a presentation sized pad of blank paper attached to it.

Once he'd finished taking in the room, he chose to sit on the couch and curl up in the corner so that his right side was partially facing away from the man; he may have started holding his high once more but that didn't mean he wanted to encourage anyone to stare at his scars during a discussion. Mr. Natsume silently studied him for a moment before he rose to his feet and headed over to the video camera in order to angle it towards Harry. He then crossed the room in order to move the easel so that was standing behind the couch and slightly off to the side of where Harry's was sitting before he offered a permanent marker to the twelve year old.

"I was debriefed on your disabilities by the principle shortly after you registered with the school," Mr. Natsume stated once Harry had taken the marker before he made his way back to the camera to check the focus and make certain that both Harry and the easel were centered within the lens. "I then spent some time hunting down the tools I would need to help make it easier for you to communicate with me during your sessions and a more effective method for me to record our sessions outside of me reading your replies aloud for the simple tape recorder that I usually use during counseling sessions for review purposes."

"The result was the presentation board behind you that I am going to ask you to write all of your answers on and this video camera that I will be using to record all of your sessions. I realize that you might find it a bit uncomfortable to sit in front of the camera the first few times but I am going to ask you to try and ignore the camera completely. Do you have any questions…? No, then I'm going to go ahead and turn the camera on so we can start the session; please write your name and today's date across the top of the first sheet so that I can adjust the focus on the camera."

The man quickly suited actions to words once Harry had obeyed the command to place his name and the date on the board before he returned to his desk and announced, "Today's date is Monday, April twenty-sixth, in the year nineteen-ninety-three, the time is three-twenty-six in the afternoon, and this is Evans Harold's first counseling session." Mr. Natsume then focused his attention on Harry as he continued, "I would like to start today's session by asking you how you are doing with your classes."

Harry tipped his head to one side as he met the man's gaze for a brief moment; uncertain of why the man was asking him about classes. After thinking about it for nearly thirty seconds, Harry figured the man was just trying to make small talk in an effort to make Harry feel more comfortable with him or with the camera. Knowing that, Harry finally shrugged in reply before he scribbled out a rather unimaginative, '_I'm doing alright._' on the pad below his name.

"Are you having any trouble with the coursework?"

_No._

"That's good to hear. Do you get along with your instructors?"

Harry hesitated a moment before he replied with; _they're okay, I guess_.

"Is there any member of the staff that you've been having any difficulties with?"

_No._

"Do you have a favorite instructor?"

_No._

"Is there any particular instructor that you don't get along with?"

Harry's mind immediately flew to Snape and Quirrell even as he shook his head no and wrote out the same response on the pad below his other replies. Aside from his earlier conspiracy theory about the teachers all seeking to embarrass him for their personal amusement, he hadn't really had any problems with his new instructors. He had far more important things to worry about in any case.

"What about your peers; do you get along with the other students?"

This time Harry just shrugged in response to the question. He had nothing to say about his peers. He still felt rather conflicted about all the time he'd been spending with Ryoma and his tendency to treat the slightly younger boy like a friend. Harry also had no interest in speaking about what had happened during the attack again; though he suspected he would be required to at some point. It had been difficult enough answering Officer Hirohito's questions about the attack.

"Is there another student or group of students that are giving you trouble still?" Mr. Natsume fished when Harry didn't answer his previous question and this time Harry just stared at him blankly. "Did another student threaten you with further harm? Is that why you are not answering?" Mr. Natsume fidgeted a bit when Harry still didn't make any type of reply before he tried a slightly different line of questioning. "Have you made any friends yet?"

The man couldn't have picked a worse line of questioning. Friendship was an uncomfortable topic on a good day and Harry had been rather moody since he'd first returned to school the previous Wednesday (the short vacation over the course of the weekend not included). The blank look he'd been wearing turned to stone and his gaze turned glacial in an unconscious reflection of his feelings about that particular topic. The counselor must have realized he'd just stumbled on a touchy topic since he immediately jotted down a few notes before he changed the subject.

"How do you like living in Japan, Evans-kun?"

Harry tipped his head to one side as he eyed the man with open mistrust before he grudgingly replied with; _it's okay, I guess. It's different._

"Have you done any sightseeing yet?"

_No._

"Are there any places that you would like to visit?"

_I don't know; I never really thought about doing touristy things before. It's not like I'm here on vacation._

"I see," Mr. Natsume murmured in reply as he made another couple of notes. "We're just about out of time for today, so I will stop here. Between now and our next meeting, I would like for you to do a little research and come up with at least two places that you'd like to visit while you are in Japan. We will discuss your choices and why those places drew your attention when we meet again on Wednesday afternoon."

Harry frowned at the man before he scribbled out a question of his own; _what is the point of such an assignment? I thought the point of me meeting with you was for me to 'deal' with what happened to me._

"I am here to help you cope with the emotional and mental baggage that comes with the two violent incidents that you were involved in. However, before I can even begin to delve into those issues, we need to establish a measure of trust between us and the only way to do that is for you to grow comfortable enough with me to share your experiences. I also need to evaluate your current mental and emotional health in order to know where to start in helping you pick up the pieces of your life so you can move forward and put the past behind you."

Harry absently nodded in response to that.

"Was there anything else you wished to ask me? No? Then you are free to go," Mr. Natsume stated as he got up and switched off the video recorder.

Harry nodded in response and set the marker he'd been handed on the tray below the pad of paper on the easel. He then collected his book bag and left Mr. Natsume's office; his mind a-swirl with a hundred different questions that he didn't have any answers for. The former wizard was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he wasn't really paying attention to where he was going and walked into someone the moment he exited the administration building. Harry cringed mentally and physically as he fixed his glasses and tipped his head back to see who he had walked into this time.

"That's the third time you have walked into me, Evans-san," Inui stated in his deep monotone. "It is a phenomenon that I have not witnessed occurring to any one else as of yet. I am slightly confused as to why you would repeatedly walk into me when you seem to have a knack for avoiding similar encounters with others."

_Sumimasen, Inui-san; I'm not doing it on purpose,_ Harry replied after he'd dug his whiteboard and a marker out of his book bag.

"I was not accusing you of doing it on purpose; I was merely stating fact based upon what I have observed of you over the past four weeks. And from what data I have gathered, you take exceptional care not to come into physical contact with others; though I have noticed that you have allowed Echizen to drag you around since you returned to the school once you had mostly recovered from your injuries."

Harry blinked at the senior's observation and the reminder that the teen had been stalking him, after a fashion, since the first day of school. He then frowned as he cleared his previous response off and wrote out; _Ryoma is only doing that because his mother basically ordered him to keep me out of trouble. And you are the second person I've ever met that can sneak up on me without me sensing you nearby. I can sense anyone else when they get too close; including animals._

"Interesting," Inui murmured as he adjusted his glasses and studied Harry closely. "Will you tell me more about what it is you sense from those around you while I escort you to the tennis courts?"

_You don't have to babysit me; I know where the courts are._

"I have no intentions of babysitting you; Coach Ryuzaki sent me to track you down in Echizen's place when he noted that you were running late from your appointment."

Harry wrinkled his nose in response to that admission before he pulled his left sleeve back to glance at the time on the battered old watch he'd scrounged from Dudley's former playroom after Vernon had kicked him out of his cupboard. He frowned briefly when he saw that the time was only four-oh-five; Mr. Natsume had released him nearly thirty minutes early. He passed that information along to Inui as well.

_How can I be running late when I was let out of my session early?_

"Was Echizen aware of how long your appointment was supposed to run? It is possible that he assumed you'd be let out about the same time he finished his duties for the Library Committee," Inui countered as Harry meekly fell into step beside him as the older teen began heading towards the courts. After a couple of minutes, Inui blatantly fished, "So what is it you sense when other people get to close to you, Evans-san?"

_I catch glimpses of their shadows from the corner of my eye most of the time. Other times I can hear their footsteps or the fabric of their clothes brushing together. Sometimes I can feel their eyes on me or feel their body heat if they get real close to me. And once in a while I can feel a person's intent when that intent is directed at me._

"Yet you can't sense me even when I am specifically looking for you? Do you know why that is?"

_I have no idea why I can't sense you._

"What about the other person you had difficulty sensing? What was he or she like? Do I remind you of him or her in any other way?"

_He had a nasty habit of stalking me too,_ Harry replied as he thought back to how Dumbledore had known that he had been visiting the Mirror of Erised during the winter holidays or how he'd know about the other things he'd gotten up to during the course of his year at Hogwarts.

"I still have not been stalking you; it's not like I go around following you everywhere," Inui denied with a slight frown in Harry's direction. "Is there anything else you can tell me about the man?"

_He was a manipulative old bastard and I hope he chokes on his blasted sherbet lemons._

Nothing further was said after that and the moment they reached the courts, Harry ducked behind the hedges he'd been using as a shelter ever since Ryoma started dragging him to tennis practice. Instead of taking a nap this time though, he spent the next forty-five minutes working on his latest assignments since he'd not gone to the library with Ryoma like he had previously. He had a hard time concentrating though; his thoughts far too busy chasing each other around for him to focus on the work he was supposed to be doing.

"Why were you late?" Ryoma demanded as he pushed his way behind the hedges once tennis practice was over.

_My sessions are supposed to run a full hour; Mr. Natsume let me out about thirty minutes early._

"Really? Weird, I thought you'd be done by four since I dropped you off outside his office at three-twenty."

_My appointment wasn't until three-thirty._

"Why'd he let you out early today?"

_Who knows… all he did was make small talk today._

"What are the two of you doing hiding in the bushes?" Momoshiro inquired as he peered over the top of the hedges Harry was still seated behind.

Harry silently huffed before he gathered up his things and crawled out of the bushes. He then took a moment to shake the dirt and leaves from the towel he'd taken to bringing with him to sit on (so as not to dirty his uniform) while he left Ryoma to answer the junior's question.

"We weren't hiding. At least I wasn't hiding… I was merely collecting Evans so we could leave."

"Okay, so why were you hiding in the bushes, Evans?"

_I was avoiding nosy upperclassmen_, Harry replied a touch snarkily; though the written words still fell well short of the tone necessary to fully convey said snark to the reader.

"Did you just accuse me of being nosy?"

_I don't know… have you been stalking me too?_

"I still have not been stalking you, Evans-san," Inui stated flatly as he suddenly appeared directly behind Momoshiro and caused the junior to jump out of his skin when he jumped two feet sideways.

"Chikushou! Don't sneak up on me like that, sempai!"

Harry gave the senior a flat look and ignored the flustered junior before he let out a silent snort and shook his head in exasperation as he began heading for the school entrance. Ryoma and both upperclassmen caught up to him in short order but Harry did his best to ignore them.

"What do you say we all go grab a couple of burgers; my treat," Momoshiro offered as they stepped through the entrance.

Feeling like an outsider, since he wasn't in the tennis club and wasn't really friends with the other three, Harry hunched his shoulders and automatically started heading towards the Echizen's home. He didn't get more than three steps away from the others before he came to a sudden stop when Inui latched onto the back of collar. Confused, Harry twisted himself around and raised his gaze to meet Inui's hidden gaze.

"It is considered impolite to turn down a free meal from your sempai," Momoshiro stated rather imperiously as he made an attempt to pat Harry on the head only for his hand to miss when Harry snapped his head sideways at the last second to avoid his touch. "You certainly are a twitchy little midget, aren't you?"

Harry merely shrugged his shoulders and wriggled free of Inui's hold before he fixed his uniform jacket so it was no longer bunching up funny under his arms or around his neck. Two seconds later, he found himself loosely sandwiched between Inui and Ryoma as the four of them headed towards the local burger joint wondering how the hell he'd gotten roped into going when he'd originally intended to return to the Echizens. By the time they had arrived at the fast food restaurant in question, Harry was unsure whether he was feeling frustrated or if he was merely annoyed by his present company.

They had managed to grill him far more effectively than the counselor had and he still wasn't sure why he answered more than half of their questions. The only reason why he wasn't angry was because they had offered up just as much information in return; not that Harry had really paid all that much attention to them. Harry's mood improved somewhat when Momoshiro plopped a tray holding a burger, chicken nuggets, fries (chips in Harry's mind), and a medium drink down in front of the one-eyed freshman.

"Eat up, gaki," Momoshiro ordered good-naturedly as he dropped down in the seat beside Harry with a second tray that was piled high with eight burgers, two orders of fries, and two large drinks.

Harry hesitated for a moment; the doctor's orders about not consuming greasy or spicy food and keeping his meals small flittering through his mind briefly. The scent wafting up from the tray soon scuppered any intentions he had of following the doctor's orders. He also didn't stop after he'd eaten what amounted to four ounces of food. No, Harry happily devoured every single bite of food that had been on the tray without a single regret. His stomach protested briefly (since that was the most food it had held since he'd been attacked) but soon settled into contented bliss now that it was truly full for the first time in a week.

Despite having the least amount of food, Harry would be the last one finished; the twelve year old had savored each and every bite of the forbidden (temporarily, at least) food. He even deigned to ignore the blatant laughter directed at him by his troublesome companions over how long it had taken him to eat. Upon finishing the meal, Harry let out a loud belch that had him turning bright red in embarrassment as a few people tossed him disgruntled looks or laughed at him (his companions, again). A good bit of friendly ribbing was directed his way as they disposed of their trash and returned their dirty trays.

Their small group then wandered back outside and began walking once more. Harry, at first, assumed that they were heading back towards the school (and therefore back towards his current abode) only to learn that he'd been mistaken when they ended up at a brightly lit street court where a bunch of teens were playing tennis instead. Harry took one look at the four people currently playing on the court and immediately palmed his face. Apparently, the other three were even more obsessed with tennis than Oliver had been over Quidditch.

Letting out a silent huff, Harry separated himself from the others and hauled himself up onto the low stone wall that surrounded the street court so he would be out of the way. Uninterested in watching the various matches taking place down on the court, Harry pulled out his math workbook so he could finish the day's assignments. He had no idea how long he'd been sitting there steadily working his way through dozens of word problems when a flash of green speeding towards him coupled with a cry of warning briefly broke his concentration.

Absently, Harry snapped his left hand out and caught the tennis ball that had been flying towards his head without even turning to look at it before he threw it back in the direction from which it had come from. He had grown proficient at plucking random items out of the air after years of Dudley tossing things at him on a near daily basis. That skill had been further honed by eight months worth of grueling Quidditch practices where he'd been required to pluck speeding gulf balls and game snitches out of the air for hours at a time in all kinds of weather.

He'd have used the skill in Potions class too if not for the fact that Snape had yelled at him the one time he'd caught something Malfoy had tossed at his cauldron. Biased jerk had accused Harry of causing trouble on purpose because he was 'improperly' handling raw ingredients. That had earned him a loss of twenty points and a week's worth of detentions. And Malfoy had taken to only throwing stuff into Harry's cauldron when Harry was far enough away to not catch whatever he [Malfoy] had decided to throw in.

The fact that the tennis ball had been larger than either a snitch or a golf ball), was fairly bright in color, made more noise as it cut through the air, and traveling far slower than a practice snitch meant that Harry hadn't even needed to see the ball clearly to catch it.

He then returned his full attention to his math assignment and picked up where he had left off; completely unaware of the shocked looks and gaping expressions aimed his way by everyone who had witnessed him catching the stray ball. Harry would later find out that that particular moment would have a great impact on his future. At the moment, however, he was far too caught up in the assignment that was due the next morning to care about the little trick he'd inadvertently displayed to a bunch of obsessed tennis players.

After another six stray balls were sent in his direction (none of them coming with any sort of warning and not all of them strictly 'strays') and promptly caught, Harry would send a glare towards the tennis court before he dropped down off the outside of the wall where flying balls would no longer interrupt his work. He would get a full five minutes of peace before he was interrupted by a girl he'd never seen before.

"Hi, I think your friends want you to come out and play a couple of games with them."

Harry glanced at her through his fringe before he scribbled out a terse, '_not interested,_' on his whiteboard and held it up just long enough for her to read what was on it before he returned to the problem he was currently working on. He was distracted again a few seconds later when the girl crouched down beside him instead of leaving.

"Don't you want to play tennis with your friends?"

Harry let out a silent huff in response to the question and tapped his workbook pointedly before he made another attempt to finish the problem he was on. He didn't even get to put pencil to paper before the girl interrupted him with yet another question.

"What's so important that you can't play a couple of games of tennis with your friends since you came all this way with them?"

Harry growled silently as traded pencil for marker and scrawled out a messy, _I don't play tennis._

"You don't play tennis…? Why not? Why'd you come to a tennis court if you don't play?"

Irritated because of the girl's nosy persistence, Harry shoved his things back in his bag and climbed to his feet. He then turned so that the girl could get a clear view of his scarred face for the first time and the eye patch over his right eye and she gasped in shock as she fell back on her butt. Harry scowled at her briefly before he turned his back on her and lifted his right hand to his mouth so he could let out a piercing whistle (one of the few sounds that he could still make since it didn't require vocal chords) that caught the attention of everyone in the small tennis park.

Once he saw that he had his companions' attention, Harry pointed to himself and then jerked his thumb vaguely in the direction he thought the Echizens' home was located. He then spun on his heel and stormed off in what he hoped was the correct direction. As he stalked away from the street park, Harry mouthed an endless string of profanities under his breath as he cursed human nature, the gods, magic, Quirrell, Voldemort, Dumbledore, and anything else he could think of. He'd barely made it a dozen yards from the small park before he sensed someone rushing up on him.

Instinct had Harry stepping to the right, twisting around to face his attacker, and falling into a defensive stance. He was not sure who was more surprised; Momoshiro over Harry effectively evading his attempt to snag hold of the younger boy and being prepared to counter attack or Harry when he learned that he wasn't actually being attacked. The two of them stared at one another for several heartbeats before Harry silently snorted and rolled his eyes before he relaxed his stance and turned to leave.

"Hold up there, gaki; you're going the wrong way," Momoshiro hurriedly stated as he tried to snag hold of Harry's elbow before Harry passed out of reach.

Harry dodged the attempt to grab him and danced out of reach of the older boy before he leveled a fierce scowl at him for attempting to grab him. Ryoma and Inui both joined them at that moment; Inui carrying Momoshiro's tennis bag alongside of his own.

"What happened? Why'd you leave so suddenly?" Ryoma demanded as he eyed Harry carefully; as if checking the one-eyed freshman for new injuries. "And why were you heading north instead of east if you wanted to go home?"

"I think I upset him when I was trying to get him to join you guys on the court. I figured he was just another member of Seigaku's tennis club because of the way he caught those stray balls and since he arrived with the three of you," the girl from earlier meekly explained as she unexpectedly joined the group. The girl then bowed to Harry as she offered him a contrite, "Sumimasen, it was not my intention to annoy or upset you with my questions. I was just curious as to why you didn't play with your friends and didn't understand why you wouldn't want to have a little fun."

Harry reached up to massage his temples in order to fend off the headache he could feel forming. He had been pushed outside of his comfort zone from the moment he'd been dragged along with the other three. He had enjoyed bits of the evening (the food had been a rather nice change) but for the most part, he just wished Ryoma and the others had let him bow out when he had tried. As he stood there trying to ward off a headache, Harry couldn't help but overhear part of the conversation going on around him.

"I remember you, you're Tachibana's sister," Momoshiro stated with a snap of his fingers.

"Hai, Tachibana An at you're service. I know you're Momoshiro Takeshi and you're Echizen Ryoma but I don't think I met either of your companions at the Preliminaries a week ago."

"My name is Inui Sadaharu and I'm the current manager of Seigaku's Tennis Club," Inui introduced in his usual monotone. "Our moody little friend here is Evans Harold." Harry shot a scowl at Inui for the little and moody comments while his insides squirmed uncomfortably at being labeled a 'friend' by the older boy.

"Moody…? Is that why he's been ignoring me?"

"He isn't ignoring you," Ryoma countered with a slight frown.

"Then why has he refused to speak to me? He didn't even acknowledge my apology just now," An countered with a pout that some would classify as cute or adorable.

"It has been my experience that Evans-san feels uncomfortable when others apologize to him for things he sees as trivial or the result of his own actions," Inui explained as he adjusted his glasses. "He is also incapable of verbalizing his answers; in other words, he is mute. He usually writes down his responses on a notebook or a handheld whiteboard; you might have overlooked that due to inadequate lighting, however. Furthermore, Evans-san is still learning our culture and therefore he is still learning the traditions that we typically take for granted."

"Oh, I didn't know that," An murmured as she returned her gaze to Harry; a light flush dusting her cheeks when their eyes briefly met. "Sum…"

Harry held up his right hand in the universal sign for stop before the girl could finish offering him a second apology. He then pulled out his whiteboard and marker from his bag so he could express his feelings on the matter.

_Don't apologize; you couldn't have known._ Once he was certain that she'd read that bit, he erased it and wrote down his response to her first apology. _You didn't need to apologize for earlier either._

"It was still rude of me to pester you about playing when you'd made it clear you weren't interested."

Harry merely shrugged his shoulders and shook his head; he hadn't actually blamed her for her curiosity, he just hadn't liked the fact that it had been directed at him at the time. It also wasn't her fault that he'd been rather moody since he'd begun struggling with himself over his behavior when in Ryoma's company. That line of thinking had him recalling the way Inui had casually declared him a friend of the group and Harry spun around to frown at the senior.

"Is there something wrong, Evans-san?" Inui inquired the moment he caught the look Harry was directing at him.

Harry dropped his gaze to the whiteboard in his hand as he contemplated calling the senior out on his claim of friendship before he glanced sideways at the others that were there with him. After another minute, he simply shook his head no and stuffed the whiteboard and marker back into his bag; he didn't want an audience for that conversation. Especially not an audience that included a girl he'd never seen before that night.

The group split up not long after that, with Inui and An splitting off while Ryoma, Momoshiro, and Harry stuck together (due to Momoshiro living fairly close to the Echizens). When Harry and Ryoma finally reached his house, the two boys were subjected to an intense inspection by Mrs. Echizen (to insure that they had not run into any trouble while out) before they were hustled into the kitchen for a late supper. Over the meal, both twelve year olds were interrogated about where they'd been with Harry also being asked about his first session with Mr. Natsume.

Harry felt more than a little exhausted and wrung out by the time he crawled into bed later that night; the former wizard firmly of the belief that McGonagall could take lessons on how to be stern and intimidating while radiating concern and kindness from Mrs. Echizen.

* * *

**Translations:** Japanese to English

Chikushou – damn it/ damn  
Sempai – upperclassmen, predecessor; essentially someone who has studied or been there before you (also spelled as senpai)

**Notes:**

* Natsume Takashi – Harry's counselor is based upon the version of Natsume Takashi (from the anime/manga verse of Natsume Yujincho) that I had created/altered from my HP/Natsume Yujincho crossover titled Haunted. That said, this story is _not_ a crossover with Natsume Yujincho and no other characters from that verse will make an appearance. I merely borrowed Takashi's appearance, name, and profession because I needed an OC to fill the position of Psychologist or School Counselor and figured it was easiest to use one I was already familiar with.

* * *

**10-02-15:** _Minor edits made to chapter to fix spelling/grammar mistakes and removed unnecessary author's notes._


	6. A Suggestion Made & a Challenge Accepted

**Disclaimer:** _I used to write out a very specific disclaimer explaining exactly what it is I don't own but I find myself not really interested in doing so as it is very tedious. Suffice it to say I own nothing that was created by anyone else and I am making no money whatsoever from the writing of this FanFiction._

**Warnings:** _Mild to moderate violence, character death, foul language, alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon from both worlds goodbye), angst, drama, and who knows what else. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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Chapter Six: A Suggestion Made and a Challenge Accepted

_Saturday, May 01, 1993, Late Morning  
Echizen Household, Tokyo, Japan_

Sadaharu eyed the larger than average enclosed estate that was the Echizens current residence and considered what he hoped to accomplish by seeking out a certain stand-offish freshman. He had spent quite a bit of time going over the data that he'd collected on the one-eyed pre-teen during the course of the week and he'd come to some startling conclusions that he'd missed in earlier observations. It was one of those particular observations that had him soliciting information from Momoshiro; specifically, the Echizens' address.

After reviewing his reasons for turning up announced at the Echizen home as he had, Sadaharu stepped forward and pressed his finger to the doorbell connected to the intercom system on the wall beside the gate. He didn't have to wait very long for a young woman's voice to answer him through the intercom.

"_Ohayo Gozaimasu, may I help you?_"

"Hai, my name is Inui Sadaharu and I am looking for Evans Harold; is he home?" Sadaharu replied as he clicked the intercom button.

"_Hari-kun…? Hai, he's here. Just a moment and I will let you in._"

Sadaharu mentally reviewed his initial plans on how to broach the topic he wished to discuss with his kohai while he waited to be given access to the estate. He suspected that Evans would be less than pleased with his reasons for being here and there was a ninety-seven percent chance that the younger boy would again accuse him of being a stalker. He'd only been waiting for five minutes before the gate slid open to reveal a young woman with long, dark blue-tinted hair, dark purple eyes, and friendly smile wearing a white calf-length skirt and a pale purple sweater. Sadaharu estimated her to be in her early twenties.

"I was surprised when you announced that you were here to see Hari-kun; he has never had any visitors in the past," the woman stated as she studied Sadaharu in turn. "He has not mentioned making any friends either. You are not here to cause trouble for him, are you?"

"Chigau; I just wished to speak with him on a school related matter."

"Does Hari-kun know you wanted to see him?"

"Not exactly, I had hoped to speak with him yesterday after practice but he left with Echizen before I could."

"Ah, are you in the Tennis Club with Ryoma-san then?"

"Hai, I was named the club's temporary training manager after Echizen managed to take my spot on the Regular's Team during the intra-school ranking matches," Sadaharu replied as the woman finally stepped back and indicated for him to step through the gate.

"How did you meet Hari-kun?"

"We've bumped into one another a few times on campus before Echizen started bringing him to practice. I was also the one that intervened when he was attacked by a handful of upperclassmen. Are you Evans-san's older sister?"

"Oh, no; I'm not related to Hari-kun at all. I'm actually Ryoma-san's itoko, Meino Nanako, and I'm only staying with ojisan and obasan while I am attending classes at the university."

"Are you close to Echizen and Evans then?" Sadaharu fished as the young woman led him around to the back of the house.

"No, not really but I am quite fond of Ryoma-san. He has little time for me though; if it's not tennis, it doesn't really interest him. As for Hari-kun, I'm not certain he likes me all that much since he tends to avoid me outside of meals. Such a shame too; I think he's such a sweet and thoughtful boy when he isn't too busy being paranoid or depressed. Not that I can blame him after what happened."

Silence settled between the two of them for a couple of minutes until the woman came to a sudden stop and gestured to the grounds that sat between the house and the tori gate of an old shrine that sat behind the Echizen's property as she stated, "I'm afraid that this is as far as I can take you since I don't know where exactly Hari-kun has gone to ground this time; he tends to spend the weekends wandering through the property alone. He does tend to prefer perching in the trees though, so you'll want to search the lower branches for him. If you will excuse me, I must get back to my studies."

"Arigatou, Meino-san," Sadaharu replied as the woman gracefully slipped away.

He then adjusted his glasses as he scanned the immediate area in the hopes that he'd spot the unspeaking freshmen close to the house. No such luck. Letting out a sigh at the unexpected obstacle that had just been thrown in his way, Sadaharu ventured deeper onto the property as he searched for any sign of Evans. He would eventually stumble upon the one-eyed freshman quite unexpectedly a half an hour later. Seeing that he hadn't been noticed yet, Sadaharu took a moment to observe the younger boy outside of school and the rare afterschool outing.

Evans had stretched himself out belly down on a low hanging branch of a knarled old oak tree. In place of his school uniform, the younger boy wore a pair of baggy old jeans and a loose bright red t-shirt over top of the black turtleneck that Sadaharu knew the boy wore to hide the scar on his neck. His hair was messier than usual with several leaves and a few downy feathers trapped amongst the wild black locks.

In his hands he dangled a long piece of string that was tied to a medium sized bundle of mismatched bird feathers that Sadaharu suspected the freshman had collected from the grounds (due to the feathers in his hair). Directly below Evans, a tan and brown cat that Sadaharu recognized as a long haired, Himalayan spotted cat stalked and attacked the bundle of feathers each time Evans moved the string. The thing that struck Sadaharu most about the younger boy in that moment was the small smile on his face. It was the first time that the senior had ever seen the freshman smile in the last five weeks.

_He feels safe here,_ Sadaharu surmised as he continued to watch Evans tease the cat.

Sadaharu felt a brief spike of uncertainty in that moment. The idea of intruding upon the younger boy's solitude and wiping that smile from his face made him feel rather guilty for even coming. A few seconds later, the memory of seeing the freshmen catch tennis balls without looking pushed its way to the forefront of his mind. He then recalled the day that he had heard Momoshiro complaining about Evans claiming he didn't play tennis or any another sport. After witnessing the ease with which Evans had caught stray balls from the court, Sadaharu had begun to suspect that Evans had lied about not playing sports.

Instinct will only get a person so far and Evans had not missed a single ball that had been hit in his direction without even making eye contact with the ball. That took practice and skill.

Ergo, Evans used to play a sport.

The only thing he was not certain of was which sport Evans had played; though he was leaning towards tennis based upon the way Evans avoided anything to do with tennis and yet was still capable of catching a tennis ball with such ease and familiarity. In Sadaharu's mind, the loss of his right eye had shaken Evans's confidence in his skills and he'd therefore begun to shun whatever sport it was he played. And while he was correct in his belief that Evans had once played a sport, he was wrong about which sport Evans had played but it wasn't like he had any knowledge of the magical world or the sports they played.

Knowing that, Sadaharu shook away his doubts. The moment Coach Ryuzaki had given him the position of team manager, Sadaharu had begun looking towards the future of Seigaku's Tennis Club. And as a senior and a long-time member of the Regulars (he _would_ take his spot back on the team during the next ranking matches), he felt it was his responsibility to insure that the team would be just as strong after he left as it was now. It was a responsibility that he shared with the captain and vice captain of the club.

With that in mind, Sadaharu squared his shoulders and made his way towards Evans's perch. It would be the cat who noticed his approach first and the playful little feline twitched its ears before it left off playing with the makeshift cat toy and swiveled its head face towards Sadaharu as it let out a loud meow. The behavior of the cat alerted the boy in the tree to Sadaharu's presence and the teen wasn't surprised when he glanced up to find the freshman scowling at him.

"Ohayo, Evans-san; would you mind coming down? There's something I wished to speak with you about."

It was patently obvious that Evans was more than a little annoyed by the request but Sadaharu felt reassured when the twelve year old acquiesced a moment later. The teen then watched as Evans sat up, coiled up the makeshift cat toy, and tucked into a pocket before dropped down from the branch and landed lightly on his feet. Once could almost mistake the one-eyed boy for a cat himself due to the ease with which he'd landed and the perpetual silence that seemed to have wrapped itself around the kid.

"Arigatou, Evans-san."

Evans just shrugged his shoulders and gestured for Sadaharu to follow him as he headed back towards the house. As they walked, Evans absently ran his fingers through his hair to remove the leaves and feathers buried in it and brushed his hands over his shirt and pants to loosen any dirt clinging to him. By the time they reached the front of the house, Evans only looked slightly rumbled rather than as if he'd spent a year lost in the wilds.

Once they entered the house, both of them slipped their shoes off in the entryway before they moved deeper into the house. Evans was just leading Sadaharu passed an open doorway leading into the kitchen when an older woman called Evans's name, "Hari-kun, is that you?"

Evans cringed slightly before he spun on his heel and stepped inside the kitchen where a woman with shoulder length reddish-brown hair was busy preparing food at the counter. Sadaharu followed the shorter boy so he could observe Evans's interactions with people other than the faculty and students at Seigaku.

"Ah, good it is you; please don't wander too far dear, lunch will be ready in just a short while," the woman replied as she glanced over her shoulder at the two of them. "Oh, and you have a guest as well; it is so nice to see you finally making a few friends Hari-kun. You do look familiar though; have we met before young man?"

"Not officially, ma'am; though I believe we briefly crossed paths back on April sixteenth. My name is Inui Sadaharu and Echizen might have mentioned me in passing as well, since we are in the Tennis Club together."

"Yes, your name is familiar; I'm sure my son has mentioned you a time or two. In case you haven't guessed, I am Echizen Rinko; Ryoma's mother. It is a pleasure to have your company; you will be staying for lunch, yes?"

"If my presence would not be an imposition," Sadaharu agreed as he picked up the subtle order in the woman's invitation and he couldn't help but notice the way Evans seemed to sag in himself as soon as the words were out of his mouth.

"Wonderful, lunch will be ready in about half an hour."

The two boys left the kitchen a few seconds later and Evans silently led Sadaharu up the stairs to a sparsely furnished bedroom that at first didn't appear to be lived in. A closer look revealed Evans's leather book bag hanging from the chair in front of the desk, a couple of workbooks stacked on the desk, and the sleeve of a gakuran just barely visible through the open door of the closest. The rest of the room was almost far too neat to be the room of a twelve year old boy; there weren't even any toys, books, or photos to identify the room as occupied.

By the time Sadaharu had finished inspecting the room, Evans had dug out the much used whiteboard that Sadaharu had given him just two weeks earlier and scribbled out a couple of lines on the board. The younger boy had then shoved the whiteboard under Sadaharu's nose so he could read the somewhat rude questions that had been written there.

_Why are you here? And what do you want? Are you still going to claim you're not stalking me?_

"I told you why I was here; I wanted to talk to you. And no, I'm not stalking you; Momoshiro gave me your address when he learned that I was looking for you yesterday afternoon. I had originally planned to speak with you before you left for the day but you and Echizen took off before I finished changing out of my gym clothes."

_Yeah, yeah, I got the bit about you wanting to talk but that still doesn't tell me what you want from me. Or why you keep telling people that we are friends._

"You don't see us as friends?" Sadaharu inquired curiously as he noted how sharp the word friends appeared when in comparison to the rest of the sentences currently on the board.

_I don't have any friends; nor do I need any._

That one sentence explained oh-so-much about Evans Harold. Sadaharu doubted that the kid knew just how much he'd revealed of himself in ten simple but meaningful words. He was eighty percent certain that Evans never would have stated things so bluntly if he had known just how much information Sadaharu would glean from his words. A good deal of Evans's behavior when around his fellow freshmen could be explained with those ten seemingly innocent words.

"Is it because you were forced to leave your friends behind when you moved here?" Sadaharu asked as he tried to collect another couple of pieces to the puzzle.

_I had no friends to leave behind_, Evans wrote out in harsh clipped letters that spoke of great anger or great pain.

"Is it because they saw you differently after you lost your eye and voice?"

_If you just came here to pry into my personal life, you can get the hell out now._

"Sumimasen, Evans-san; that was rude of me to pry," Sadaharu quickly apologized as he immediately realized he'd pushed too far, too soon. "I am not here to interrogate you about your past in any case; I am afraid that I got distracted by your assertion that you do not need friends. I originally wanted to talk to you about joining the Tennis Club."

Evans's anger disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared; the younger boy now a picture of utter confusion instead of indignant fury. He stared at Sadaharu for nearly five full minutes before he wiped the whiteboard clear and scribbled out a reply.

_Why in the world would I join the Tennis Club? I don't play tennis._

"You may not play now but you did in the past; or you played another sport with a similar sized ball."

_In case it escaped your notice, I only have one eye. And I've never played tennis._

"But you did play a sport."

_What does it matter if I did? It's not like I will ever be able to play it again!_

"Why? Because you are blind in one eye? You would hardly be the first handicapped individual to play a sport."

_No, it has nothing to do with my eye but it hardly matters anyway because I won't ever play again._

"So why not play a different sport? Why not play tennis? You obviously don't have any problems keeping track of a tennis ball despite the loss of one eye."

_Why would you care whether or not I joined the Tennis Club?_

"I'm a senior; this will be my last year in the Junior High Tennis Club. Out of the eight members that currently make up the Regulars, all but three of them are also seniors. And while there may be one or two decent tennis players amongst the rest of the juniors and freshmen in the club; they don't really stand out and aren't all that strong of players. That might change next year when some of the freshmen grow up a bit but there it is hard to say right now. Echizen is an exception and he's already a member of the Regulars."

_So? What does that have to do with me?_

"I think you could easily be good enough to claim a spot on the Regulars once we seniors are gone. We're going to need exceptional players to fill our spots once we are no longer here or Seigaku will quickly fade into a distant memory. And I feel it is my responsibility to help mold our future team while I still have the chance."

_What part of I have never played tennis didn't you understand?_

"A technicality; I can teach you the rules and set up a training menu for you. In the mean time, you already have a good eye necessary to spot the ball, good reflexes, and a decent amount of speed from what I have seen."

_You're mental; completely and utterly delusional._

"Why? Because I can see your potential despite how well you try to hide it?"

_No, because you think I have any interest in running around and chasing a little green ball._

"Why not at least try? You might find you enjoy playing tennis."

_And tomorrow I'll wake up as a pink elephant in a green tutu._

"You're scared," Sadaharu half deduced and half goaded in an attempt to get the stubborn gaki to agree.

_I am not scared!_

"You're afraid to try; afraid of what people will think and say when they see you on the court."

_I've stared death in the face and survived; I am not scared of a stupid sport or a bunch of immature teens._

"Then prove it; join the Tennis Club."

_No, I'm not letting you manipulate me into doing something I have no interest in._

Sadaharu opened his mouth try again only to close it when Mrs. Echizen knocked on the wall beside the door and announced that lunch was ready. Evans shot Sadaharu an annoyed glare a split second before he pointedly gestured to the door; a clear order to vacate his room. Knowing there was no point in continuing their argument right that moment in any case and he could use the extra time to come up with a new angle of attack. The two of them were the last ones to arrive in the kitchen; Echizen-san, Meino-san, and a man who was most likely Ryoma's father (the family resemblance was rather obvious) already seated at the table.

"Oh, hello; I wasn't aware that we had company today," the man stated as Sadaharu settled into the seat directly beside Evans's place. "Echizen Nanjiro at your service."

"Inui Sadaharu," Sadaharu offered in return as he gave the man a half bow in greeting. "It is a pleasure to meet you, sir; Coach Ryuzaki has mentioned you a few times since term started."

"Whatever that old hag told you was nothing but lies."

"So you were not a professional tennis player when you were younger?"

"Well, I suppose that was true enough."

"Behave, Nanjiro; Inui-kun is the first friend Hari-kun has invited to the house and I will be most upset if you chase him off with your silliness," Mrs. Echizen chided as she sprinkled a dash of salt and pepper onto her salad.

Evans twitched beside Sadaharu and the teen knew there was a ninety-eight percent likelihood that the freshman had been irritated by Mrs. Echizen's implication that the two of them were friends in light of their earlier conversation. He also suspected that his chances of convincing Evans to joint the Tennis Club had just dropped a minimum of ten percent as a result of said irritation. Instead of getting discouraged by the knowledge that his self-appointed task had just gotten that much harder, Sadaharu grew more determined to win Evans over.

"Of course, dear," Mr. Echizen replied absentmindedly even as he inevitably ignored the reprimand. "So, what kind of trouble have the two of you been getting up to?"

Sadaharu saw a rather unique opportunity to pick up an ally or two in his quest to get Evans to join the Tennis Club and after taking a split second to weigh the possibility of alienating Evans further, he replied, "No trouble, Echizen-san; I only stopped by today to see if I could talk Evans-san into joining Seigaku's Tennis Club."

Everyone at the table seemed to freeze in place for several heartbeats in response to Sadaharu's bold declaration before all eyes swung towards Evans's bowed head and Sadaharu wondered if maybe he'd a mistake in his attempt to solicit the Echizens' help. He had hoped that Echizen's love of tennis had come from one or both of his parents (given what little he knew about Mr. Echizen's history as a pro).

"That's a pretty interesting goal you have there," Mr. Echizen drawled after another five minutes had crawled by in complete silence. "I wish you luck in convincing the stubborn gaki to stand still long enough to put a racquet in his hands let alone convince him to stick around and actually play a game. I'm pretty sure he's afraid of the ball."

"Actually, Evans-san is rather skilled at catching those stray shots that would otherwise hit an unsuspecting bystander during a game," Sadaharu countered as he kept an eye on the boy seated beside him. "I believe he has an extreme dislike of being the center of attention and his complete lack of experience in playing tennis only makes him fear being embarrassed in front of others."

"Well, catching those slow balls that are lobbed out of the court are a far cry from the power hits that one could expect to face in a court during an actual match. It would take some serious hard work and dedication for someone to pick up a racquet and have any hope of playing in an actual game. It's probably best that Hari-kun stays off the court."

Sadaharu watched Evans draw his hands into his lap and clench them into fists; a sure sign that the twelve year old was more than a little conflicted at the moment. If Sadaharu had to make a guess, he'd say that the one-eyed freshman was frustrated over the topic and at the same time torn about how to respond. Would he refuse to join the club and risk the chance that everyone would believe that he was afraid or did he stubbornly insist on joining the club in order to prove to them that he was not afraid and that he could be good?

Throwing a bit more tinder on the fire, Sadaharu let out a sigh as he stated, "Maybe you are right. It just seems such a shame for him to waste all that potential."

"The two of you ought to be ashamed of yourselves; making up Hari-kun's mind for him that way. I'm sure that Hari-kun would be more than willing to join the Tennis Club if that was what he really wanted to do," Mrs. Echizen scolded lightly as she frowned at her husband. "Hari-kun, you just ignore those two meat-heads and sign up for whatever club you want to once you've been released from your medical restrictions."

"Evans-san already said he wasn't going to join the club," Sadaharu corrected as he gave a calculated shrug of his shoulders; as if to say there was nothing else he could do. "I even offered to teach him the rules and help him train but he said he wasn't interested."

Silence would fall over the table again at that point as everyone turned their attention towards their food; Evans included though Sadaharu knew his kohai was still rather irritated at the moment. Sadaharu estimated that the chances that Evans would join the club were now firmly set at fifty percent. All he needed was an appropriate challenge to nudge him to in the correct direction. Sadaharu just wasn't certain what he could use for that all important nudge though. In the end, Sadaharu wouldn't need to come up with an appropriate challenge for Evans; Mr. Echizen took matters into his own hand and issued a challenge of his own first.

"You know, I'm sure it's for the best that Hari-kun not to join the Tennis Club; I mean he wasn't even willing to face an old man like me across the net. It was probably just a fluke when he caught those balls that you mentioned earlier. Why I bet he'd be far too scared to even attempt to catch a single ball that I served across the net let alone a dozen in a row."

Evans pushed himself up from the table thirty seconds later and dropped his whiteboard in Mr. Echizen's lap before he stalked out of the kitchen. Not even a minute later, the front door could be heard opening and closing. Mr. Echizen started laughing a split second later as he set the whiteboard on the table and excused himself. Curious as to what Evans might have said to the man, Sadaharu snagged hold of the whiteboard and read what had been written on it.

_I bet you can't serve a single ball that I couldn't catch; not even if you tried to make me miss a hundred times in a row._

"It would appear that my kohai has a bit of a competitive streak."

"I certainly hope the two of you know what you are doing," Mrs. Echizen stated as she read Evans's reply over Sadaharu's shoulder. "The only reason I played along was because that boy needs something to focus on aside from all that he has lost. If he does end up joining the Tennis Club, Inui-kun; I fully expect you to make certain nothing happens to him since it was your idea for him to join in the first place. He may not think he wants any friends but even the blind could see he needs one; someone who will teach him how to be a child and guard his back when trouble finds him."

Mrs. Echizen shooed Sadaharu out the door a few seconds later with instructions to keep an eye on her husband to make certain the man didn't run Evans into the ground. Sadaharu readily agreed; he didn't want to miss what promised to be an interesting match. Meino-san chose to join Sadaharu and the young lady led the teen towards the shrine that sat right up against the back of the property where Mr. Echizen had apparently marked out a make-shift tennis court. They arrived in time to hear Mr. Echizen dictating the rules of the challenge as he tapped his shoulder with his racquet; a large basket of tennis balls sitting at his feet.

"First, you have to stay within the lines on your side of the court; if you step out of bounds with both feet it counts as a dropped ball. Next, you have to catch each ball before it touches the ground on your side of the net. Each time you catch a ball, you have to toss it in the empty basket sitting just outside the court before you can catch the next ball. If you touch the net or you miss the basket; that ball doesn't count as a capture. If you miss five balls in a row or fifteen in total; you fail and you will be banned from joining the tennis club. And finally, if you catch every single ball, you have sign up for the Tennis Club and make an effort to learn how to play the game. Any questions or complaints?"

Evans shook his head no as he backed up so that he was standing right in front of the service line at the back of the court before he eyed the chalked lines that marked the boundaries of the court. He then settled into a loose stance that would allow him to spring in any direction in order to catch the balls that were hit into his side of the court.

"Jisan, obasan will throw out your photo magazines if you cheat or if you run Hari-kun ragged and get him in trouble with the doctor for over doing things before he has been released from his medical restrictions," Meino-san called out as she took a seat on the bench up against the structure that held the shrine's large brass bell. "So, you aren't allowed to hit more than one ball at a time and you have to wait until Hari-kun either catches it or misses it before you can serve the next ball. Inui-san and I will keep count of the missed balls for you."

"Fine," Mr. Echizen replied without any hesitation as he used his racquet to pick up the first ball. "Are you ready, gaki?" Evans gave a single sharp nod as he locked his single-eyed gaze onto the ball Mr. Echizen was now holding in his hand. "Yosh! Here I go then."

Mr. Echizen bounced the ball a couple of times and Sadaharu noticed that Evans didn't take his eye off the moving ball for a single second. After no more than four bounces, Mr. Echizen tossed the ball into the air and hit a slow moving lob that would be fairly easy for anyone to catch or hit; the man obviously looking to get a feel for Evans's skills before he began serving up more difficult to follow or catch balls. Evans had an almost offended look on his face as he easily caught the ball and tossed it into the waiting basket without looking.

And the game was on.

Over the course of the next forty-five minutes, Mr. Echizen used a wide assortment of serve techniques that gradually increased in speed and power as he made Evans chase the balls up one side of the court and down the other. No matter what angle the ball flew at, how fast it flew, or where it was aimed to land, Evans was right there to catch it. The twelve year old also didn't hesitate to launch himself skyward to catch those balls that would have landed out of bounds or dive low to catch those that barely cleared the net. The kid also showed no signs of fear or stress.

In fact, Evans looked utterly focused; never once taking his eye off the ball from the moment Mr. Echizen lifted one out of his basket until it was leaving his hand to join the others in Evans's basket of successful catches. Even as the one-eyed pre-teen worked up a sweat and his breathing began to grow a touch labored, he never slowed down, faltered, or fumbled the ball. A couple of times, Sadaharu even thought he saw a smile on the freshman's sweaty face.

The potential that Sadaharu had seen the first time he'd witnessed Evans catch a stray ball was even greater than he had originally calculated based upon what he knew of the boy. Weighing that potential against the skill that Mr. Echizen was displaying only confirmed Sadaharu's belief that Evans had what it takes to be a great tennis player; providing that his capture skills could be transferred over to using an actual racquet to return the ball to the other side of the court. By the time Evans caught the final ball and tossed it into the basket with the others, Sadaharu had collected more than enough data to create the perfect training menu for the scrawny freshman.

"Congratulations, Hari-kun; it looks like you won our bet," Mr. Echizen declared as he kicked the empty basket at his feet with his bare foot. "I guess that means I'm going to have to take you into town later this afternoon so we can get you outfitted with some proper gear."

Sadaharu knew the instant that Evans realized that he'd just been shanghaied into singing up for the Tennis Club; the kid slapped himself in the face before he shot Sadaharu a glare. Mr. Echizen noticed as well and the man laughed loudly and brazenly told Evans that he needed to work on his poker face. Evans was then ordered to go cool down, take a shower, and put on a clean change of clothes.

Not long after Evans slunk off to get cleaned up, Sadaharu was invited to accompany the duo to the sports shop. The teen didn't hesitate to agree; figuring that would be the perfect opportunity for him to show his kohai which training aides he would need to purchase. It would also give him an idea of Evans's spending budget since some of the equipment he had in mind could get a bit pricey (such as the adjustable ankle and wrist weights).

Just before the trio left the house, Mrs. Echizen ordered her husband to take Evans by the hospital first to see the doctor for a quick check up to insure that he hadn't done himself harm playing around. He would also need to get an idea of how much longer he'd be on restriction since Couch Ryuzaki would need that information and a doctor's note before Evans was allowed to join in the regular club activities.

* * *

**Translations:** Japanese to English

Hai – yes  
Itoko – cousin  
Ohayo (Gozaimasu) – Good morning (slightly formal)  
Obasan – aunt  
Ojisan – uncle  
Kohai – an underclassman, successor; someone who is a few years behind you in school (also sometimes spelled as kouhai or kōhai)

**Notes:**

* I just wanted to state that Harry is NOT going to be replacing any of the canon regulars on the team at this point. He has absolutely NO experience playing tennis at this moment in the story and currently doesn't even know the rules. He's also NOT going to turn into a tennis prodigy the moment he picks up a racquet; he's going to have to work hard for every single skill he picks up. He's also not going to be very happy about joining the Tennis Club at first; since he was essentially tricked into joining the club by Nanjiro and Inui.

* * *

**10-02-15:** _Minor edits made to chapter to fix spelling/grammar mistakes and removed unnecessary author's notes._


	7. The Price of Pride

**Disclaimer:** _I used to write out a very specific disclaimer explaining exactly what it is I don't own but I find myself not really interested in doing so as it is very tedious. Suffice it to say I own nothing that was created by anyone else and I am making no money whatsoever from the writing of this FanFiction._

**Warnings:** _Mild to moderate violence, character death, foul language, alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon from both worlds goodbye), angst, drama, and who knows what else. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

Chapter Seven: The Price of Pride

_Saturday, May 01, 1993, Afternoon  
Hospital Examination Room, Tokyo, Japan_

Harry stewed in his perpetual silence and studiously ignored the other two individuals in the room while he waited in the examination room for the doctor. He had been irritated by Inui's attempts to manipulate him into joining the Tennis Club. He'd then been annoyed when the jerk had announced the reason he had come to see Harry in front of the Echizens that had resulted in Inui and Mr. Echizen ganging up on him. But he was down right furious with himself for allowing the two of them to get to him.

_Damn my stubborn Gryffindor pride,_ Harry mentally castigated himself.

Part of him still couldn't believed he'd walked right into their tricks and traps but the rest of him knew that the moment Mr. Echizen had thrown out his challenge, there had been no walking away. Call him a fool but he hated it when people told him he wasn't good enough to do something. That was a left over remnant of growing up with the Dursleys and constantly being told he wasn't good enough and would never be good enough to earn their love. He'd thought that he'd outgrown his need to prove people wrong years earlier but apparently he hadn't.

Harry was drawn out of silent simmering by the arrival of the same doctor he'd seen two weeks previous.

"Konnichiwa, Evans-kun; how are you feeling today? Any lingering pain in your abdominal region?"

Harry scribbled out his answer on his whiteboard, _I'm fine. No, I don't feel any pain._

"That is good news," the doctor murmured after he spent a full minute visually examining Harry to ascertain the truth of his words. "Please lay back on the bed so I can examine your stomach."

Harry complied and did his best not to squirm uncomfortably when the man pulled his shirts up and began lightly probing the faded yellow and green bruise that still decorated half of his torso. The doctor managed to find one or two spots that were still a little tender but that was the extent of the lingering damage found.

"Good, very good; it appears that your internal injuries are healing much faster than anticipated. Have you had any problems eating?"

_No._

"That's good. Have you increased the size of your meals?"

_A little._

"I see. Have you experienced any sharp pains or vomiting as a result of the larger meals?"

_No._

"Very good. Have you experienced any pain or difficulty, such as diarrhea or constipation when voiding digestive waste?"

_No_, Harry replied again as he tried not to get embarrassed by that question.

"Well, everything appears to be in order and you are well on your way to a full recovery, Evans-kun," the doctor declared as he removed his hands and allowed Harry to pull his shirts back down and sit up.

"Does that mean Hari-kun is clear to participate in a sports club?" Mr. Echizen inquired from where he was lounging against the room's door and peeping on passing nurses through the window.

"That would depend upon the type of sport Evans-kun has in mind; I would highly advise against participating in any physical contact sports such as martial arts, boxing, or football to name a few. I would also recommend that he avoids placing undue stress on his abdominal muscles through exercises such as crunches or sit-ups for at least another week or until the bruising on his torso has faded completely; whichever comes first."

"What about tennis?"

"Hmm, tennis should be fine; providing Evans-kun doesn't push his body too hard."

"Did you hear that, gaki? You're now free and clear to join the school's tennis club," Mr. Echizen crowed in a pleased tone as he tossed a smirk in Harry's direction. "Oh, and we'll need a couple of notes releasing Hari-kun from his medical restrictions; both the school's administration and the tennis coach will want proof that he has been cleared for active participation."

"I will have the nurse provide you with one on your way out," the doctor replied before he patted a still seated Harry on the knee before the twelve year old could shift out of his reach. "Evans-kun, it was a pleasure seeing you in much better health. Please take care of yourself; I'd rather not see you again any time soon."

Harry sulked as he trotted along behind Mr. Echizen as the man led the way to the nurses station where they only had to wait for about fifteen minutes to collect the release note (in triplicate) that would allow him to once again participate in school related physical activities. Incidentally, he would also now be required to participate in sports related activities in P.E. Class in addition to his after school club activities; bar those that involved or had the potential to include physical contact (basketball, volleyball, and soccer being included in that category).

Immediately after they left the Hospital, the trio would cut across town where they would end up outside of a small sports shop called Mitsumaru Sports. Harry climbed out of Mr. Echizen's black truck and stared at the small store that Mr. Echizen had parked in front of while he waited for the other two to join him on the sidewalk.

"Shall we head inside, gaki?" Mr. Echizen rhetorically asked as he made to drop his arm around Harry's shoulder. Harry dodged the arm and barely repressed his desire to scowl at the man; he was his host, after all, and it would be rude to treat the man poorly after he'd opened his home to Harry. That didn't stop Harry from being annoyed with the man though. Mr. Echizen didn't seem to take offense to Harry's antics, though he did mutter out a petulant, "What a twitchy little gaki you are."

Harry ignored him, followed Inui into the store, and promptly walked right into Inui's back when the teen unexpectedly stopped in his tracks for some reason. The one-eyed pre-teen sheepishly rubbed the back of his head when Inui turned to look down over his shoulder at Harry; he really needed to stop bumping into the older boy. At least Inui was a good sport about it; Harry shuddered to think how easily the senior could have made Harry's life hell if he took offense to being repeatedly plowed into by the same freshman. Mr. Echizen managed to safely avoid both boys as he slipped into the store behind Harry.

"It would seem that you've yet to break your habit of running into me," Inui commented; a trace of amusement coloring his tone.

Harry snarkily replied with a witty; _it's entirely your fault this time, sempai; if you'd left well enough alone, then I wouldn't have been here to walk into you._

Before Inui could respond back, a trio of voices chorused out a relieved (almost desperate sounding), "Inui-sempai! You have to do something!"

Harry leaned around the overgrown fifteen year old to find Horio, Mizuno, and Kato hovering in the entryway right in front of Inui and apparently the trio was the reason why Inui had pulled up short. While Inui dealt with the somewhat frazzled freshmen, Harry let his eye wander about the store taking in the various items on display. There was everything from sports clothes to specialty shoes to sports equipment and everything in between. Harry felt more than a little lost as he had no clue what more than half of the stuff on sale was for.

He was just wondering if maybe he could slip out without anyone noticing him when he sensed someone trying to grab him and he jumped sideways and knocked into Inui yet again just in time to escape from Mr. Echizen. Wincing at his own clumsiness, Harry apologized to Inui before he allowed Mr. Echizen to lead him over to a display of tennis racquets and tennis related equipment. They were half way to the display when Mr. Echizen suddenly stopped and hustled Harry over to the shoe section.

Curious as to why Mr. Echizen had changed his mind, Harry glanced backwards and felt his eyebrows disappear beneath his fringe when he saw Ryoma and another boy Harry had never seen before staring at one another over a row of shelves. Harry could practically feel the tension radiating between the two but he had no clue as to the reason behind their rather obvious dislike of one another. His attention was soon distracted by Mr. Echizen telling him to pick out an appropriate set of exercise clothes geared towards tennis.

Harry was quick to comply when he noticed the way Mr. Echizen was eyeing a vivid pink set. He ended up with two pairs of simple black shorts with gold stripes down the side, two pairs of track-suit pants with the same colors, a pair of dark red polo shirts with gold sleeves and collar with a black bar running down the left side of the shirt on the front, and one track-suit jacket that matched the pants and shorts. Next, Mr. Echizen dragged him over to the shoe display to look at tennis shoes where Inui joined them.

"I have been pricing out some appropriate training equipment and was wondering if you would be willing to tell me the range of the budget that you are limiting Evans to for his equipment," Inui fished the moment he popped up beside the two of them.

"Are? Why are you asking me?" Mr. Echizen demanded as he shot a confused look at Inui. "Hari-kun is the one in charge of his budget; he's the only one who knows how much money he has to invest in his new equipment."

Harry wrinkled his nose at the reference to the rather large fortune that had been converted into yen and transferred to a non-magical bank for him by the goblins. Since arriving in Japan, Harry hadn't even really needed to touch the money he'd inherited from his parents except to purchase clothes, school supplies, school fees, and his recently purchased pair of replacement glasses. Everything else had been paid for by Mrs. Echizen (at her insistence). He'd attempted to offer the Echizens rent money when he first arrived but Mrs. Echizen had flat out refused to accept any money from him.

Harry let out a small huff when Inui turned expectantly to him for an answer and after a brief internal debate, wrote out a reply on his whiteboard; _I don't really have a limit on what I can spend. However, I don't want to buy the most expensive stuff just because I can afford it; I'd rather buy stuff that is reasonably priced yet durable enough to last a while._

"Understandable, Evans-san; I will keep that in mind as I collect those items that will be most beneficial to the training schedule that I have been working on putting together for you. I would also advise you to purchase a pair of running shoes alongside a set of tennis shoes since one aspect of your training will be increasing your stamina and speed."

Harry briefly scowled but nodded as he returned his attention to the shoes; eventually setting on a pair of white running shoes and a pair of black and red tennis shoes. After that, Inui guided him to the tennis section where he helped Harry pick out a charcoal gray tennis bag with white piping to hold his equipment; the same bags used by the Regulars in the Tennis Club. Mr. Echizen also picked out a red single-racket tennis bag with a shoulder strap that matched Harry's chosen training clothes for those times when Harry didn't need to carry all of his equipment (the man following the two boys while trying to avoid being seen by Ryoma).

"Hey, Evans; what are you doing with all of that stuff?" Horio demanded as he eyed the growing pile of tennis supplies that Harry had just delivered to the cash register alongside the training equipment that Inui had already selected.

"Evans is joining the Tennis Club," Inui answered in Harry's place as he set canister of standard green tennis balls next to the other supplies that had been gathered.

"Nani!?" Horio gasped in a loud yelp while Mizuno blinked twice before asking, "Honto?"

"Hai," Inui replied before he steered Harry over to the racquet display while Mr. Echizen seemingly disappeared.

Inui was in the middle of explaining the differences between the various brands of tennis racquets and racquet styles, frame weight, and string grades as he helped Harry select a couple of practice racquets for him to train with when the sound of a small argument breaking out distracted them. Turning toward the disturbance, Harry was surprised to see Ryoma and the unfamiliar boy from earlier arguing over the last box of what looked like black tape on display.

"There is a ninety-six percent chance that their argument is going to escalate since both of them are rather stubborn and Ibu Shinji is likely to feel pressured after his recent loss to Echizen during the Preliminary Matches last weekend despite the fact that Echizen had been injured during the match."

Harry started over that tidbit of information; he'd not realized that tennis could be just as ferocious as Quidditch. He probably should have realized that sooner though; what with the way a good many sports fans got rather aggressive when they defended their favorite teams. Or when they badmouthed their least favorite teams. Knowing that, he wondered if joining Seigaku's Tennis Club was really such a good idea; he really didn't need to pick up a rival to replace Malfoy.

The two of them continued to watch the mostly verbal fight over whatever it was the two both wanted for another few minutes; Harry because he'd never seen Ryoma so aggressive and Inui because he was collecting data. The small argument would actually be diffused when Mr. Echizen walked up the squabbling boys and plucked whatever it was they were fighting over out of their hands and promptly purchased it for himself. The man then claimed that he was leaving Harry in the care of his friends (referring to the number of Seigaku students in the shop) as he left the store.

"Well, that was rather unexpected," Inui mused as Ryoma and the recently identified Ibu stopped arguing with one another and turned their ire towards Mr. Echizen in unison as they chased him out the door. "Anyway, we should finish selecting a practice racquet for you since that is the last piece of equipment you need to purchase for now."

Ten minutes later, Harry reluctantly carried a pair of lightweight racquets and two boxes of red grip tape (since there was no more black in stock and Harry didn't care for the other colors) up to the counter. As he set those items next to everything else he had been told he would need, the cashier and owner of the store began ringing everything up. Harry was frowning at the steadily rising total on the cash register when Ryoma finally rejoined the other freshmen that had been making purchases on behalf of the Tennis Club.

"What are you doing here, Evans-san?"

_Going broke and being tortured,_ Harry answered as he briefly took his eye off of the register's display long enough to scribble out a reply.

"Echizen, did you know that Evans is joining the Tennis Club?" Horio demanded quite loudly as he jerked his thumb in Harry's direction.

"What are you talking about, Horio? Evans doesn't play tennis."

"He doesn't…?" Horio repeated in shock as he turned to gape at Harry once more. "You don't…? Why are you joining the Tennis Club then?"

"Evans-san won a bet against Echizen's otousan earlier this afternoon," Inui supplied as he packed Harry's newly purchased equipment into the large tennis bag as soon as everything had been rung up.

_I was railroaded by a manipulative upperclassman and a troublesome old man,_ Harry corrected with a scowl that he directed at Inui before he handed the cashier his bank card to pay for the larger than expected purchase. What he didn't know was that the owner had actually given Harry the same discount that he normally extended to the Seigaku Regulars since Inui had been present and had been the one selecting most of Harry's supplies (despite the fact that Inui was not currently considered to be one of the Regulars).

"What do you mean?" Ryoma asked in confusion as their group headed for the door now that they had all completed their business; the capped teen collecting a second tennis bag from beside the door.

"Your otousan challenged Evans to demonstrate his ability to catch and bet him that he couldn't catch a single ball that Echizen-san served. Evans in turn bet your old man that he couldn't serve a ball that he couldn't catch even if he tried a hundred times in a row. The deal was that if Evans missed five balls in a row or fifteen in total, he would not be allowed to join the Tennis Club but if he caught them all, then he would have to join. Evans-san caught all two hundred tennis balls that Echizen-san served without breaking a single one of the rules Echizen-san imposed."

"Why didn't you just miss the last one on purpose if you didn't actually want to join the club?" Ryoma asked as he rounded on Harry to get his input.

"Who's joining what club, Ochibi-chan?" a peppy and playful voice demanded as the red-headed member of Seigaku's Tennis Club appeared in the blink of an eye, pounced on Ryoma, and wrapped him in a headlock.

"Evans is joining the Tennis Club because he won a bet with Echizen's otousan," Horio readily replied in Ryoma's place as he pointed to Harry.

"Honto…? Ochibi-chan's little roomy is actually going to join the club?"

"Are you certain that's a good idea?" the other teen who'd been with the red head asked out of concern while Harry tried to recall the names of the two seniors because he hadn't really interacted with them since he'd been introduced to them a week ago.

"Evans-san has a wealth of untapped potential, Taka-san," Inui stated as he slung Harry's bag of newly purchased supplies over his shoulder so Harry wouldn't have to carry them for the moment. "I am certain that by this time next year, he will be a real asset for the team."

"Really, really? And Ryuzaki-sensei agreed to let him join the club?" the redhead demanded as he released Ryoma and made to pounce on Harry instead. Harry saw him coming from a mile away and deftly spun out of reach before he planted himself behind Inui in order to use the bespectacled teen as a shield from the grabby redhead. "Oh, isn't that cute; Ochibi-chan's little roomy is shy."

"I haven't actually confirmed his enrollment in the Club with Ryuzaki-sensei yet, Kikumaru; I needed to solicit Evans-san's cooperation first since there would have been no point in speaking to Ryuzaki-sensei if he had refused to join."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go ask her right now!" Kikumaru insisted as he began herding everyone in the direction of Seigaku.

"What about Momo-sempai?" Kato inquired with some concern.

"We saw him with Fudomine's Kamio over by the street courts just a few minutes ago," the teen who Inui had called Taka-san stated as he vaguely gestured off to the left.

"We can collect Momo on our way back, then," Kikumaru stated as he changed directions mid-step and began herding everyone towards the street courts.

"Do you still have the release forms that you received from the Hospital, Evans-san?" Inui inquired as he fell into step beside Harry as the former wizard reluctantly let himself be dragged along by the others since it wasn't like he knew the way back to the Echizens from their current location. Harry nodded an affirmative as he patted his book bag; which he'd been carrying with him to hold his whiteboard when he wasn't scribbling out answers. "Good, Ryuzaki-sensei will need a copy of the form if she allows you to join the club."

Harry wrinkled his nose over the reminder of the trap he'd allowed himself to fall into. Ryoma dropped back to walk on his other side a moment later as he repeated his earlier question, "So why didn't you just miss a ball on purpose if you didn't want to join the club?"

_It never occurred to me and I didn't want to lose the bet. Your otousan only added the condition of me joining the Tennis Club after I'd already called him out anyway and my pride wouldn't let me back out._

"That doesn't really surprise me; otousan can be such a jerk at times," Ryoma replied with a slight scowl. "I really wanted that grip tape too."

"Mitsumaru's will have received a new shipment by Wednesday afternoon," Inui pointed out as he looked up from the notebook that he was writing in.

Ryoma only pulled the bill of his ever-present hat down to shade his face instead of remarking on the ease in which he could purchase the grip tape he wanted so long as he was patient. Harry would have snickered if he could; it was always amusing when the other boy actually acted his age. His amusement would be short lived though as he recalled his rapidly approaching conscription into Seigaku's Tennis Club. Harry would be drawn from his internal drama less than ten minutes later when their group ran into Momoshiro, another boy with red hair, and a rather familiar girl at the base of the steps leading up to the tennis courts.

"Hey guys," Momoshiro greeted as he made a beeline for Ryoma and the second tennis bag that Ryoma had been carrying in his arms. "What are you doing here?"

"We thought you'd want to be present when Ochibi-chan's little roomy signed up with the Tennis Club," Kikumaru answered as he pounced on Ryoma when Harry sidestepped out of his reach again.

"What? Really? But Evans doesn't play tennis!"

"I always knew Evans was weird," Horio firmly groused as he crossed his arms over his chest; the idea that someone didn't play tennis an affront to the loud-mouthed kid's sensibilities.

"Urusai, Horio," Ryoma huffed as he frowned at the other boy.

"Are you really going to take up tennis?" the girl, whose name Harry thought was Tachi-something An, asked as she danced around the group until she was standing beside Harry. "I didn't think you were interested in playing after the other night." Harry gave a half-hearted shrug as he stuffed his hands in his pocket and averted his face as he recalled how startled the girl had been when she'd seen his scar the other night. "I think you can be really good at it if you practice; I'd never seen someone catch a ball barehanded without looking like you did the other night. It was kind of cool."

Harry hunched his shoulders and ducked his chin further to hide the blush that was now spreading over his face. It felt more than a little weird for a girl he didn't really know all that well to praise him over something as silly as not getting hit in the head or face with a tennis ball. He was also less than pleased with his own catching skills since they were what got him roped into joining the Tennis Club in the first place.

"Ah, isn't that so cute; Ochibi's roomy has already found his first admirer and he isn't even in the club yet."

"What…? An, how could you?" the unfamiliar red head that had been with Momoshiro and the girl demanded in a dismayed tone that made it obvious that the guy had a crush on the girl.

"Oh don't be so dramatic, Kamio," An chided with a laugh and a matching blush as she shot a sideways glance at Harry as if to gauge his reaction.

Harry just palmed his face in his right hand and shook his head as he wondered why everyone and their brother seemed to enjoy embarrassing the hell out of him every time he turned around. He about jumped out of his skin when someone looped their arm through his left arm and pressed up against him before laying their head on his shoulder. He was more than a little shocked when he turned his head and discovered that it was An attached to his side and it was like he'd been hit with a petrification curse as he froze in place.

"An! What are you doing!?" Kamio gasped as he gaped at the girl for a full minute before he leveled a potent glare at Harry when Harry didn't immediately shift away from the girl.

"Be nice, Kamio, Evans-kun isn't going to hurt me. He's really sweet. Did you know that he was nice enough to tell me that I didn't own him an apology for being nosy or rude to him the other night?" An countered as she lifted her head and planted a light kiss on Harry's cheek that short-circuited both Harry and Kamio's brains; Harry because he'd never had a girl kiss him like that before and Kamio because of An's display of open affection to a virtual stranger.

"I think you broke them both," Momoshiro laughed as he dropped his hand on Harry's head and ruffled his hair; the one-eyed freshman for once incapable of dodging the playful gesture. Just a few feet away, Kamio had fallen to his knees and looked as if he had a dark cloud circling his head.

An just giggled as she finally stepped away from Harry as she slid her hand down his arm and pulled his hand free so she could capture his hand before she offered, "Good luck with joining the Tennis Club; I look forward to playing against you sometime."

A brief squeeze of his hand and then An and Kamio were both gone a couple of minutes later and Harry was left trying to reboot his brain so he could figure out what the hell had just happened. When he could finally move again, he knocked Momoshiro's hand from his head and frowned up at the junior before he cleared his whiteboard and wrote out three words that he flashed at Inui.

_I blame you._

That only produced another round of laughter from those who caught a glimpse of Harry's written remark. The moment was interrupted by distant cries of, 'Stop! Thief!' The group turned towards the cries in unison as an older teen on roller blades suddenly appeared in the distance. Momoshiro must have recognized the guy from somewhere as the junior let out a growl as he cried, "Echizen!"

"Got it!" Ryoma barked in reply as he smoothly set his bag down on the ground, pulled a racquet and a tennis ball out of his bag and hit the ball towards the guy on skates.

The ball would bounce once just a few feet in front of the thief before he flew towards the guy's face and knocked him out cold. Harry would reach up and snag the ball out of the air as it rebounded back towards the group while the purse that the thief had stolen went flying to the side where it ended up smacking a vaguely familiar teen with a green bandana and a towel around his neck in the face.

"Nice shot, Echizen," Momoshiro praised as he gave Ryoma a high five.

"Thanks!" Ryoma replied as he collected his ball from Harry and tucked both ball and racquet back into his bag.

The next twenty minutes would pass by in a blur as the teen who'd been hit with the purse tried to punch the thief for some reason while Taka-san attempted to hold him back and the rest of the group held what seemed like a dozen different conversations all at once. Adding to the chaos was the owner of the stolen purse and the police officer that had been hunting for the would-be thief. Harry had watched the entire drama unfolding from the sidelines as he'd extracted himself the moment the black haired teen (who Harry was sure Horio had called Kaidou-sempai) had lunched himself at the thief with an angry hiss.

Eventually, the thief had been arrested and the boys all thanked for their part in stopping the thief. Harry almost wished the drama had lasted a bit longer, since the moment the thief had been hauled away by the policeman; everyone's attention had shifted back to him. A quick check of the time was made at that point (to determine whether or not there was a chance that Coach Ryuzaki was still in her office) before Kikumaru once more herded the group towards their campus.

The ten of them wound up running into the woman just as she and Tezuka-buchou were heading down to the courts to lock up for the day. Harry felt a rock settle into his stomach as he only half listened to Inui explain why they were there while Horio, Mizuno, and Kato put away the supplies that they had been sent to purchase.

"… and so we were hoping that you would allow Evans-san to join the Tennis Club," Inui finished several minutes later; Harry missing most of the teen's speech due to his growing nervousness.

"Is this true, Evans-kun?" Coach Ryuzaki inquired as she dropped her gaze to where Harry was currently trying to make himself invisible.

Harry reluctantly nodded in response (he was too stubborn to renege on the terms of the bet he'd had with Mr. Echizen and he had just spent several thousand yen on brand spanking new tennis equipment and training supplies).

"And you have a written note from the doctor releasing you from your previous medical restrictions?"

Harry fished out one of the three copies of said note and silently passed it to the coach in response to the question.

"You know I find it highly unusual for you to suddenly express an interest in tennis when you normally slink away to hide the moment you arrive at the courts," Coach Ryuzaki mused after she had skimmed through the note. "I am also somewhat hesitant to allow you to join when I know for a fact that you were excused from all sports related activities at the start of term due to the fact that it had been less than a year since you lost your right eye. Why shouldn't I make you wait until next year when all the clubs hold their open enrollment?"

Harry wasn't certain how to respond to that and as a result he simply squirmed beneath the woman's gaze while she waited for an answer.

"Why not have Evans-kun give us a demonstration of his skills, sensei?" Kikumaru suggested in a thoughtful tone as he as he absently tapped his chin with a finger. "Buchou is here and there are enough of the Regulars present that we can all evaluate Evans-kun's abilities and then vote on whether or not to let him join the club now or wait until next spring."

"Tezuka, what do you think?" Coach Ryuzaki inquired as she turned her gaze to the rather intimidating senior that was the club's captain.

"If we are going to hold a vote on whether or not to bring a freshman into the club this late in the term, we should at least call Fuji and Oishi so that they can make their opinions heard on the matter as well," Tezuka replied after studying Harry for a seemingly endless minute.

"Very well, I will see if I can get a hold of those two," Coach Ryuzaki stated as she pulled out a cell phone. "Evans-kun; go warm yourself up so you don't pull anything during your demonstration. Inui, since you are the one sponsoring the gaki; get what equipment he'll need and set everything up in Court A."

"Here, pass me your book bag; I'll hold onto it for you," Ryoma offered before Harry had had a chance to even move from his spot.

Harry hesitated for a moment before he slipped the bag from his shoulder and passed it to the younger boy. He then moved a short distance away from the others and began running through the stretches that he'd learned in his P.E. class at the start of term. Once he'd finished with the stretches, he set off to jog a couple of laps around the courts so he could center himself before he was once again put through his paces. Only this time, he would have an audience.

By the time he'd run a dozen laps, the two missing members of the Regular's team had arrived and Inui had finished setting things up in the first court. Couch Ryuzaki sent Harry onto the court at that point while a short conference was held to determine who would be serving since Harry wouldn't be playing an actual game. After a couple of minutes, it was decided that all of the regulars would serve fifteen balls before switching out in order to test Harry against different player styles and skills.

As all eight regulars and Inui joined him on the court, the other freshmen and Coach Ryuzaki lined up along the fence outside so that they could watch the demonstration. Harry eyed the eight boys who were purported to be the eight strongest players in the Tennis Club nervously for all of half a minute before he shoved his insecurities out of his mind and settled into a ready stance on one side of the court while he waited for one of the others to start serving. Momoshiro would be the first to step forward while Inui took the referee's seat.

"Evans-san, same basic rules as earlier," Inui announced once Momoshiro was in place. "One; stay within the outermost set of lines on your side of the court; if you step out of bounds with both feet it counts as a dropped ball. Two; you have to catch each ball before it touches the ground on your side of the court. Three; each ball you catch must be placed in the empty basket sitting just outside the court before you can catch the next ball."

"Four; if you touch the net or you miss the basket; that ball doesn't count as a capture. And five; all servers are to send one ball at a time over the net and wait for Evans to catch or miss the ball before they send another. Does anyone have any questions about the rules? No? Are both sides ready? Then you may begin on my mark; ready, set, hajime!"

Harry's eye locked onto the ball as soon as Momoshiro lifted it out of the basket and the moment his racquet sent the ball speeding over the net, he was off and moving as he strove to intercept the fast moving ball. The rest of the world faded into the background as the flying ball became the sole focus of Harry's entire being. Once his fingers wrapped around the ball he tossed it away as his eyes immediately flew to the next ball that Momoshiro had picked up. He easily fell into the familiar rhythm of mark, move, catch, and release as he danced back and forth across the court.

Harry never even noticed when the Regulars switched out with one another every fifteen serves because nothing else existed but for the green balls that were sent in his direction. It wasn't until the final ball had been captured and tossed into the basket to join its mates that Harry realized the demonstration was over. He almost wished it had gone on for another hour because a small part of him had been able to pretend that he was once again on his broom chasing golf balls at Quidditch practice so long as the balls had continued to fly towards him.

Reality crashed down on him a heartbeat later and Harry folded himself over to rest his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath and regain his equilibrium. Once he was no longer gasping for air, he slowly straightened up and pulled off his glasses so that he could wipe the sweat from his brow. The sound of several footsteps rushing towards him soon had him backpedaling as the more demonstrative members of the team (i.e.; the rowdier members) descended upon him like a flash flood.

"That was so cool, Roomy-chan!" Kikumaru crowed as he bounded up to Harry and attempted to glomp him like he normally glomped Ryoma. Harry slammed his glasses back on his face and ducked out of the way at the last second before he had to twist out of Momoshiro's reach as the junior made his own attempt to latch onto Harry.

"I swear it looked like you were actually flying when you chased down Fuji's serves there towards the end!" Momoshiro added in an impressed tone as he and Kikumaru tried to catch him between them in a pincer move only for both of them to miss when Harry crouched down and dropped into a forward roll to escape them.

"Not bad, Evans; but you still have a ways to go," Ryoma quipped as he strolled up to the group with Harry's book bag once again slung over his shoulder.

"It was a good showing in any case; not many people can track a ball well enough to see where it is going to land before it actually lands let alone get themselves into position fast enough to actually to catch or hit the ball in time," Fuji stated as he led the rest of the Regulars over to join the group.

"Are you in any pain, Evans-kun?" Oishi asked with some concern. "You pulled off some rather risky moves a time or two and I still remember how badly injured your stomach was just a couple of weeks ago."

"Evans-san was removed from most of his medical restrictions earlier this afternoon by the doctor that originally treated his injuries when he was admitted to the hospital two weeks ago," Inui answered in Harry's place since Harry didn't have anything to write down his replies on at the moment. "He has been advised to wait at least another week before performing any exercises that could stress his abdominal muscles though."

"So, are we going to let Roomy-chan join the Club now?" Kikumaru inquired as he made one last attempt to grab hold of Harry only to end up latching onto Inui when Harry used the fifteen year old as a shield once again.

"Sensei?" Momoshiro prompted as the rest of the group parted to allow the coach to join them.

"Tezuka?" Coach Ryuzaki prompted in turn instead of making the decision on her own.

"I will agree that Evans has potential but I am concerned by his lack of actual tennis experience," Tezuka stated in a measured tone that gave no indication of what he was feeling or thinking.

"I've already agree to teach Evans the rules and help him train since it was originally my idea for him to join the Tennis Club," Inui interjected as he extracted himself from Kikumaru's hold. "We also spent part of the afternoon purchasing his training equipment and supplies; so he has been properly equipped."

"Does anyone have any objections to Evans joining the club?" Coach Ryuzaki inquired when Tezuka didn't immediately speak up again and she promptly received a string of seven negatives in return.

"It was my understanding that you did not have any interest in playing tennis; if we allow you to join, can we trust you to make an actual effort to train without us having to watch you every second? Will you even be able to stand on a crowded court during practices instead of hiding away behind the hedges like you usually do?" Tezuka demanded after the others had cast their votes in favor of Harry being allowed to join.

Harry firmly stood his ground and held the teen's gaze for a full minute as he considered what he was being asked and what his answer would mean for him. Once he made up his mind, Harry solemnly nodded an affirmation to both of the captain's questions; he would not slack off despite the fact that he hadn't originally been interested in playing tennis and he would learn to tolerate the other members since he would be required to train with the others during practices. His pride would not let him do anything less.

"Very well then, I have no objections."

"I guess that means that your application has been approved, Evans-kun; be sure you turn in said application first thing after the holidays when you join us for morning practice," Coach Ryuzaki declared as she smiled at Harry for the first time. "Inui will pull you an application from the club room when he returns the equipment to the room now that your demonstration is over."

"Welcome to the club, Roomy-chan!" Kikumaru cried happily while everyone else present offered their congratulations as well; most of them far less enthusiastic if no less sincere than the redhead.

Harry sighed in resignation and just he hoped he wouldn't end up regretting joining Seigaku's Tennis Club.

* * *

**Translations:** Japanese to English

Ara/Are – oh, or 'huh?'; 'ara' is typically used by women, 'are' (pronounced as ar-eh, I believe) by men  
Buchou – captain  
Hajime – begin  
Honto – really  
Konnichiwa – hello, good afternoon  
Roomy-chan – silly new nickname that Kikumaru bestowed upon Harry

**Notes:**

* The black truck owned by Nanjiro only appears in the manga and not the anime from what I've seen; though it might have appeared in the episode called 'The Samurai's Ballad' where the rest of Nanjiro's story is revealed during the flash backs to the day when Nanjiro first met Rinko. Not sure if that's the same truck or not though.

* Parts of this chapter were based upon episode 22, titled 'Kaoru's Troubles', from the first season of the Prince of Tennis Anime.

* Holidays: the holidays in question are Constitution Memorial Day, Greenery Day, &amp; Children's Day which are all part of Golden Week (all of which are also considered national holidays in Japan). The start of Golden Week is Showa Day which falls on April 29th.

* * *

**10-02-15:** _Minor edits made to chapter to fix spelling/grammar mistakes and removed unnecessary author's notes._


	8. The Ghosts of Nightmares Past

**Disclaimer:** _I used to write out a very specific disclaimer explaining exactly what it is I don't own but I find myself not really interested in doing so as it is very tedious. Suffice it to say I own nothing that was created by anyone else and I am making no money whatsoever from the writing of this FanFiction._

**Warnings:** _Mild to moderate violence, character death, foul language, alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon from both worlds goodbye), angst, drama, and who knows what else. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

Chapter Eight: The Ghosts of Nightmares Past

_Tuesday, May 18, 1993, Pre-Dawn  
Seishun Gakuen, Tokyo, Japan_

Harry bolted upright, a near silent rasping scream on his lips as he jolted awake from the first nightmare he'd had since he'd moved to Japan back in March. Trembling, Harry buried his face in his hands in an effort to stem the tears that poured from his eyes while gasping for breath; his heart beating erratically in his chest as flashes of the horrible dream played in the back of his mind. It would take him nearly twenty minutes to catch his breath and calm his racing heart, though he never quite managed to stop the tears that still streaked down his face.

When it became obvious that he wasn't going to get back to sleep any time soon, Harry crawled out of bed and silently made his way down to the first floor to slip outside. The one-eyed twelve year old shivered as the cool night air caressed his sweat soaked night clothes and chilled him to the bone. Harry immediately wrapped his arms around his stomach in an effort to ward off both the chilly air and the terrible memories that had haunted his dreams as he woodenly made his way down into the yard before wandering up to the shrine.

He would end up perched on the edge of the roof of the structure that held the shrine's great bronze bell; the small pre-teen looking like a stone gargoyle turned flesh beneath the cold, dim light of a crescent moon and a scattering of stars. As he sat there shivering on his precarious perch, Harry allowed his thoughts to wander over the past two and a half weeks in an attempt to reacquaint himself with reality after his nightmare.

After he'd been railroaded into joining the Tennis Club, Harry had spent the rest of the long weekend familiarizing himself with his new gear, breaking in his new shoes, and learning the basic tennis rules under Inui's supervision. First thing Thursday morning, Harry had promptly presented his completed club application to Coach Ryuzaki before joining the other freshmen in the changing room. Those members of the club who had not been present for Harry's initiation slash demonstration were more than a little surprised to see him changing out with the rest of the club but otherwise didn't really pay him any attention until Coach Ryuzaki announced his induction into the club.

More than a few of the older members grumbled over his special treatment at joining so late but for the most part they just ignored him once they learned that he wasn't another tennis prodigy. Harry would then spend that first morning practice familiarizing himself with the typical freshman member's club routine (which mostly consisted of conditioning exercises, chasing down stray balls, and working on their basic forms and stances). During lunch time, Inui would take Harry aside and continue the one-on-one lessons he'd been giving him since Saturday.

His afternoon practice would then involve conditioning exercises, stamina training, running through repeated sets of the various types of tennis swings, and more ball chasing. By the time he made it back to the Echizens' home, Harry had felt like his arms were going to fall off due to his arm muscles' unfamiliarity with the constant motion of swinging a racquet. Friday would follow a similar pattern outside of the fact that his afternoon practice started late due to his long-standing appointment with the counselor.

The spies, scouts, and other individuals that came to watch the club's afternoon practices immediately took note of his presence instead of ignoring him like they usually would. Harry disliked the way they paid such close attention to him during the first few practices he attended. Thankfully, they went back to mostly ignoring him once it became obvious that he was just a beginner and that he would not be earning a place on the official team any time soon.

His second week as a tennis player turned out to be much different as Inui spent far more time with him as he walked Harry through a new training schedule (once Harry had grown somewhat comfortable swinging his racquet) designed to increase his stamina, speed, and flexibility. He also put together a very specific diet that Harry was supposed to follow to bring his body up to optimum health and give his growth rate a boost.

That was on top of him providing him with a list of book titles that would explain the rules of tennis in depth, gave a break down of the equipment used in the sport, and provided a break down of the mechanics involved in performing the various types of shots and serves. Inui didn't hesitate to quiz him on the information in those books every couple of days just to confirm that Harry had either borrowed or purchased a copy of the books and was actually taking the time to read through them.

Over all, that second week of training and practice was rather harsh and Harry still hadn't actually smacked a ball about with one of his racquets. Inui was insistent that Harry get his body used to going through the proper forms before he started practicing with a ball around, let alone even thinking about playing in a match. The senior's reasoning for that restriction was due to the fact that Harry tended to get tunnel vision the moment a ball was put into play; something that could get him or bystanders hurt if he made a mistake (such as lose his grip on the racquet).

Harry hadn't minded easing into the game; it gave him time to figure out how to compensate for his blind side since he had difficulty seeing his right hand and arm (which just happened to be his dominate side). It also allowed him to focus on getting his body into shape; since he'd never really done any serious exercising or paid much mind to his diet prior to his aunt shipping him off to Japan.

By the end of that second week of practice, Harry wished that he could go back in time and punch his younger self in the face for getting him roped into joining the Tennis Club. He even considered dropping out a time or two during a few of the more grueling practice sessions. However, each time he convinced himself he'd had enough, he had felt the captain's eyes land on him and he would remember the questions that Tezuka had asked him before agreeing to allow Harry to join the club. That memory would in turn make Harry would redouble his efforts instead of giving up. It was the same stubbornness that had seen him answering Mr. Echizen's challenge with a challenge of his own.

This past Monday had been the start of what promised to be yet another grueling week of training right up until Mr. Natsume had thrown a wrench into Harry's schedule.

Instead of making small talk during their session like he usually would, Mr. Natsume had suddenly decided to delve into the sequence of events that led to Harry losing his voice and an eye. The man had guided Harry through the whole sordid affair (or as much of that night as Harry was legally allowed to reveal to the man) before he'd begun asking a series of very pointed questions about what had happened. The problem was that Mr. Natsume had easily picked up on the fact that Harry hadn't told him the full truth about what had happened and his attempts to pry the true story out of Harry had sent Harry into a panic attack.

By the time that Mr. Natsume had finally talked him through his panic it had been close to five o'clock. Harry had left the man's office without waiting for him to dismiss him at that point and he'd run all the way to the Echizens' without sparing a single thought for Ryoma or tennis practice. Once he'd reached the house, Harry had immediately holed himself up in the guest room and ignored everyone; even going so far as to skip supper. He'd eventually fallen into a restless sleep where his memories of that night soon trapped him in an endless stream of nightmares.

And those same nightmares had been what had driven him out of bed in the wee hours of the morning.

Harry took a shuddering breath and held it for a count of fifty before he slowly let it out. Another dozen such breaths followed and with each inhale, Harry imagined all of his emotions being packed down into a dark hole in the depths of his subconsciousness until he had gone completely numb. It was a technique he'd taught himself when he'd first started having nightmares after Dumbledore had kicked him out of Hogwarts and he wrongly believed that using that technique allowed him to deal with what happened to him.

In actuality, he was merely suppressing his emotions and compartmentalizing what he felt without actually addressing the underlying issue; his memories of the night he'd faced a Voldemort possessed Quirrell. His use of the technique had actually done more harm than good since bottling up his emotions only created more mental and emotional stress that in turn made his nightmares more vivid. A change of scenery and a completely new set of unfamiliar faces and challenges had then allowed him to mentally separate himself from his past since there were so few reminders present.

That in turn only compounded the matter because the lack of nightmares led him to believe he'd finally gotten over the worst of his issues when all he'd done was hidden them behind a paper wall in his mind. Mr. Natsume had stepped in and torn a hole in that paper wall the moment he'd forced Harry to speak of that night and attempted to dig deeper into those things that Harry wasn't allowed to discuss with non-magicals. Harry's suppressed emotions and memories had then destroyed that wall when they had burst free during his panic attack; leaving Harry as much of a mess as he'd been during and immediately after the incident.

Harry had no idea that what he was doing was only making things worse for himself though; he'd had no one to teach him how to deal with the trauma he'd experienced nor had there been anyone he could to talk about what had happened to him. Even now, because of the limits placed on him by the Statute of Secrecy, he couldn't really talk about what had truly happened that night. And his sessions with Mr. Natsume had not yet reached the point where he was learning any coping techniques (mostly because the psychologist had not yet learned the full depth of trauma that Harry had suffered through).

Harry wouldn't stir from his perch upon the bell house until the first rays of sunlight began blotting out the stars. Even then, he had been tempted to ignore the world around him right up until Karupin, the Echizens' two year old cat, mewed at him until he came down. Once down, Harry had made his way back to the house so he could get dressed for school. Mrs. Echizen fussed over him the moment he stepped into the house looking like death warmed over what with the dark circle beneath his visible eye, his tear-stained cheeks, the pinched expression on his face, and the light blue tint to his skin from the cold.

The former wizard tolerated her fussing but remained detached throughout the experience; his mind still completely numb. After she had let him go, Harry dressed in his tennis clothes and tucked his school uniform into his book bag so that he could change after practice was over. He then made sure he had everything he'd need for the day before he headed off to school without bothering to eat breakfast, grab his lunch, or wait for Ryoma. Harry would be the first one to arrive on the courts (even beating Coach Ryuzaki, who was rumored to practically live in her office).

Upon discovering that he was locked out of the club room, he mechanically stashed his things in the bushes before he began stretching. Once he felt he was sufficiently warmed up, Harry began running laps around the court. He never even bothered counting his laps as he strove to drive his memories out of his mind by running his body into the ground. He was so focused on putting one foot in front of the other that he didn't even stop when the others began turning up for morning practice. Harry even ignored Coach Ryuzaki, Captain Tezuka, and Ryoma when they tried to get his attention.

Not even the burning in his lungs and leg muscles could distract him from his need to outrun the terrible ghosts that lingered in the back of his mind waiting to haunt him once more the moment he let his guard down. Obstacles that planted themselves in his way were either vaulted over or swerved around without slowing down. Hands that reached out to grab him were ducked under without him ever seeing them. His hair and clothes were plastered against his body with sweat and still he ran; his nightmares nipping at his heels each time he even thought about slowing down. It wasn't long before he reached the point where he was running on fumes out of sheer stubbornness alone.

Practice was drawing to a close when Inui finally managed to plant himself in Harry's path at the last second (when there was no time for Harry to swerve around him) and catch hold of him. The two of them went down in a tangle of arms and legs and Harry lay gasping and shaking as reality abruptly snapped into existence once more. He would be plucked off the ground and set on his feet by an irate Coach Ryuzaki some five minutes later but the moment she let go of him, he stumbled and staggered like a drunken sailor until Inui caught hold of him and held him steady.

"Ahou! What in the hell do you think you were doing, Evans?" Coach Ryuzaki demanded once Harry was no longer in danger of kissing the ground. The woman would swallow the rest of her tirade two seconds later when Harry lifted his head high enough for his gaze to connect to hers; the dead look in his eye catching her completely off guard. "Drag him off to the fountains and get some water in the fool before he dies of dehydration. Make sure you soak his head while you're at it; maybe you can flush the rocks out of his brain. After that, help him walk the shakes out before his muscles seize up from the abuse he heaped on himself."

Harry would have cringed in response to her words if he'd had been able to pay them any attention. As it was, Harry couldn't even stand up or walk on his own, let alone form a coherent thought. Once they reached the water fountains, Inui silently shoved Harry's head under the nearest faucet and turned the water on full blast and Harry's body jerked involuntarily as the ice cold water poured down on his overheated head. The green-eyed freshman was left spluttering beneath the deluge of water for a good five minutes; too weak to even push himself up while Inui removed all of his training weights.

At the end of those five minutes, Inui pulled him up and pressed a cup to his lips as he ordered, "Drink."

The teen spent another five minutes feeding Harry small sips of water in order to avoid making Harry's stomach cramp by drinking too much too fast while his body was still coping with the aftermath of driving himself into the ground. After getting roughly two cups of water into Harry, Inui began leading Harry on a slow circuit between the courts and the fountains in order to help him finish cooling down and prevent his muscles from cramping severely to how badly Harry had strained himself.

"For your sake, Evans, I sincerely hope you have a good reason for running yourself into the ground _and_ ignoring both sensei's and buchou's attempts get your attention," Inui stated as they made their third circuit.

"Don't forget to add skipping both supper last night and breakfast this morning onto that list," Ryoma snarkily added as he passed by the two of them on the way to the locker room to change into his uniform.

"Baka, are you trying to kill yourself?" Oishi demanded shortly after Ryoma disappeared.

Harry ignored all three of them; it wasn't like he had anything to write a reply out on even if he had been capable of writing out a legible reply to their chastisement.

After twenty full circuits, Inui doused Harry with water a second time and gave him another cup of water to sip and then had him run through a set of cool down stretches before they did another twenty circuits. By that time, Harry was mostly walking on his own though Inui hadn't let go of his arm; a precautionary tactic to both keep Harry from falling over or running off before he was properly scolded. As soon as he could walk in a straight line and his breathing and heart rate had returned to something resembling normal, Inui dropped Harry and his things off in Coach Ryuzaki's office where Ryuzaki and Tezuka were waiting for him.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?" Coach Ryuzaki demanded the moment Harry had taken a seat on the chair in front of her desk and before the door had finished closing behind Inui.

_Sumimasen, sensei; I guess I lost track of everything once I started running,_ Harry temporized in an effort to remain both truthful and avoid talking about what was bothering him; the words rather messily written on his whiteboard.

"You don't say? What was your first clue?"

If Harry hadn't felt so numb and detached from his emotions, he might have cringed in response to the sarcasm that was dripping from every word of both rhetorical questions. As it was, he merely kept his gaze focused on his lap while he waited for the coach to send him off to class.

Coach Ryuzaki let out a sigh when she didn't get a response from Harry before she stated, "Look, Evans-kun; I like you, you're a good kid and you have a lot of potential but I can't just ignore the fact that you not only ignored the orders of both myself and your captain, you put your health at risk with the stunt you pulled. I shudder to think of just how much damage you might have caused yourself if Inui hadn't managed to stop you when he did."

_Sumimasen, sensei; it won't happen again._

"Damn straight it won't because if it does, I will kick you out of the club and ban you from ever joining another sports club for as long as you are enrolled in classes here at Seishun Gakuen. I won't play games with the health of my tennis players; of which you became one the moment you handed me your signed application. Now that we've dealt with that business; why don't you tell me exactly what it was that drove you to drive yourself into the ground?"

That question penetrated the fog of numbness surrounding Harry and he flinched sharply in response. He then wrapped his arms around his stomach and curled over his arms as he tried to beat back the flood of horrible memories and dark emotions that her question had just dredged up. The effort of fighting against his inner turmoil saw his entire body trembling beneath the strain of maintaining his composure and it wasn't long before he began having trouble breathing.

His tenuous control would snap half a minute later when Coach Ryuzaki unintentionally made things worse by brushing her fingers through Harry's hair in an attempt to sooth him.

The moment he felt her fingers catch on his still wet and hopelessly tangled locks, Harry was plunged into his memories of that hellish night with Quirrell and Voldemort's shade. He let out a silent scream that echoed with sound in his memories and he threw himself away from what he believed was his tormentor as one hand flew to his throat to clutch at a wound that no longer bled. Harry would then end up crawling into the nearest corner as he relived his desperate escape from Voldemort's shade and the basilisk before he curled up in a ball and began rocking back and forth as he covered his ruined eye with one hand while the other still clutched at his neck.

It wasn't until he relived through the moment that Dumbledore snapped his wand that the nightmarish tide of memories ended and Harry slumped limply to the floor until he was half curled up on his side as he stared blankly at nothing; his glasses hanging from one ear and his eye patch tangled up in the fingers of his right hand. Breathing was difficult but unimportant as the memory of his banishment drowned out all coherent thought. A voice kept calling for someone named Evans but Harry didn't acknowledge the speaker since he no longer recognized that name as belonging to him.

Harry's return to reality was a slow and painful process.

The first person he recognized once he could somewhat think coherently was Mr. Natsume and Harry was consumed by an unreasonable rage as he immediately blamed the counselor for his current pain. Something suddenly snapped inside of Harry in that moment and it felt like his blood was boiling in his veins; turning his anger into terror as an invisible force roughly shoved the psychologist out of his personal space. Exhaustion weighed heavily on Harry immediately afterwards and he found it impossible to think clearly as he floated in that hazy place between waking and resting.

Sometime later, Harry was jolted wide awake by a surge of something flowing through him. The first thing he noted this time was how dark the room looked before his eye fell on an old man dressed in what he thought was an old fashioned kimono, hakama, and haori based on pictures that he'd seen in his history textbook. However, it was the long, slender stick that the man held in his hand that held Harry's complete attention the moment his eye caught sight of it. That stick meant something to the crippled child. He recognized it as a wand and Harry felt a sharp spike of anger, heartache and desperate longing as he once again yearned for what he had lost.

"Calm yourself, child; least you damage your core further in your distress," the man... the _wizard_ instructed as he cast some kind of spell on Harry and he immediately felt a foreign power locking his emotions behind a barrier. "That's right, you're safe now; no one is going to hurt you. Now, will you tell what it was that had you so upset?" Harry blinked at the man without comprehension for several seconds before he weakly shook his head no. "I can not help you, if I do not know what is wrong, child."

Swallowing thickly, Harry weakly and more than a little hesitantly tugged at the high collar of the turtle neck he was wearing beneath his tennis shirt until he managed to pull it down far enough to expose the deep scar that bisected his neck. The wizard froze for the briefest of moments when he caught sight of the ugly scar and Harry recognized the exact moment the man realized what it was that Harry was trying to tell him. Harry was just happy that he couldn't find any trace of pity in the wizard's eyes when the man once again looked back up to meet Harry's gaze.

"My apologies, child; I was not aware of your loss. Have you been taught sign language?"

Harry shook his head no before he tried to sit up so he could locate his whiteboard which he had lost at some point during his panic attack. The man reached out and pressed Harry back to the floor; a silent order for Harry not to get up.

"That is strange; that is one of the first things you should have been taught the moment you lost your ability to speak. No matter; I will speak to your parents about correcting that oversight later. In the mean time, we're going to have to play a rather limited game of charades until you have recovered enough to sit up. I'll start by asking you if you are aware of the fact that magic actually exists."

Harry closed his eyes and slowly nodded an affirmative as his emotions briefly spiked before the spell that had been cast on him exerted its influence over his emotions once more.

"Does that mean that you are aware of your status as a wizard?"

Harry scrunched his face up in confusion over that question (due to what he'd been told about his magic being stripped from him) before he tentatively nodded yes once and then immediately shook his head no.

"I am confused; were you or were you not informed of your status as a wizard?"

He repeated the same sequence of nods and shakes before he raised his hands and mimed snapping his wand. The wizard's eyes widened in surprise or possibly disbelief before his brow crinkled in confusion.

"Am I to understand that you know you are a wizard but that your wand was snapped?"

Harry nodded yes even as his throat and eyes burned with shame; his skittering thoughts quickly overpowering the spell that was helping him to stay calm as he again recalled the moment he'd been expelled from Hogwarts.

"Calm down, child; you must maintain control of your emotions or you will send your body into shock due to the severe magical exhaustion you are experiencing in the wake of your earlier outburst."

Harry stared at the man as if he'd just sprouted a second head before he adamantly began shaking his head no. He knew there was no way he'd had an outburst of accidental magic because he no longer had any magic.

"Come now, child; you honestly don't believe that your magic suddenly disappeared just because someone snapped your wand, do you? Use your head, child; your magic lives in your blood, not in your wand."

Harry scowled at the man and shook his head once more before he shoved himself upright despite the wizard's protests and fumbled his glasses back into place before he searched the room for his whiteboard and marker. The moment he caught a glimpse of white out of the corner of his eye, he attempted to crawl over to the displaced tool only for the man to hold him back as he summoned the whiteboard with a spell the moment he saw what Harry was looking at. A second spell located the missing marker and both items were soon deposited in Harry's hands.

Communication tools in hand, Harry weakly propped himself up against the wall behind him and painstakingly wrote out a response to correct the wizard's mistake; _you have it backwards, my wand was snapped __**after**__ I had lost my magic._

"Lost your magic? You do know that it is not possible for a wizard or a witch to 'lose' their magic, ne? Magic is something we are born with; it is created inside the core that resides within our hearts and released to mix with our blood from the moment our heart first starts to beat inside of our chests while we are still forming in our mother's womb. The only time a wizard will ever lose his magic is when his heart stops beating. Right now, your core (your heart) is over-stressed and further damage would lead to your heart stopping and you dying."

Harry's breath caught in his throat and he reeled in shock over the sinister implications of that revelation. He began to hyperventilate a split second later as the memories of Pomfrey telling him he no longer had any magic and Dumbledore snapping his wand replayed in his mind yet again. He then snapped out of his panic as the older wizard's magic settled over him a second time and he desperately wiped the whiteboard clear before he began scribbling disjointed sentences in an attempt to understand _why_ the others would have lied to him and why he'd not had an outburst of accidental magic in almost a year despite the many panic attacks and nightmares that he'd had on several occasions during that time.

_Quirrell and Voldemort… my neck… failed ritual… the Stone exploded… basilisk, my eye ruined… the bird crying… woke up and told eye ruined, voice gone, and magic ripped away… expelled… wand snapped, my owl confiscated… I was banished… thrown away… magic gone, gone, gone…_

"Calm, child; slow your thoughts and take a deep breath. I am having trouble following your written babbles so I am going to use a spell called Legilimency to view the memory of what you are trying to tell me. You will feel no pain but that which is associated with the memory as you will unfortunately be forced to view the memories alongside of me. All I need you to do is stay calm and focus on what it is you were trying to tell me as you look into my eyes."

Harry did as instructed and a few minutes later he felt himself drawn into a series of memories that highlighted his year at Hogwarts (particularly those that revolved around the Philosopher's Stone and Voldemort's continued existence). The sequence would take him and the unnamed wizard through his first trip to Gringotts with Hagrid up through the night he had been kidnapped and used in the botched ritual. The rush of memories didn't stop there though as they viewed the events that followed that fateful evening before skimming through the aftermath of his exile from the wizarding world next; including his past two months at Seigaku and the events that led to this morning's panic attack.

When the spell finally ended, Harry was once again laying on the floor panting while the Japanese wizard delicately held his head as if to ward off a severe headache. Once he had recovered sufficiently, the older wizard let loose a string of profanities that left Harry blushing even though he'd only understood a quarter of the man's invectives. He then cast several spells over Harry while he continued to mutter crude verbal curses under his breath between spells. Harry mostly ignored the man due to the exhaustion he currently felt.

"My English counterparts are either a pack of incompetent hedge witches with their heads screwed on backwards or they are far more conniving than we had previously given them credit for," the man declared once his wand stilled. "While it is not possible to strip a wizard of his magic without killing him at the same time, it is possible to bind a wizard's core to prevent his magic from flowing freely. It is a barbaric tradition that does more harm than good."

"That said, I have no proof that your core was bound since any bindings would have been blasted into nothingness by your earlier outburst. And it is possible that the sheer volume of foreign magic from the basilisk's venom, phoenix tears, and the failed ritual combined with an extreme case of magical exhaustion and two life-threatening injuries befuddled the results of a standard diagnostic charm enough to make it appear that you had lost your magic back when you were first injured."

"In any case, your core, and therefore your magic, is currently unstable; which is not surprising considering the mental, emotional, physical, and magical trauma you've been hit with repeatedly over the past two years. That isn't even taking into consideration what damage had been done to your body and core during your childhood based upon what little I had seen of your home life prior to your relocation to the Land of the Rising Sun. I can't decide whether you are the luckiest child I have ever met or the unluckiest."

Harry couldn't help but cringe in response to the man's words before he bit his lip and scribbled out a nervous; _What's going to happen to me now? Will I be shipped back to England?_

"No, we will not send you back to those barbarians. Even if they were simply ignorant of your condition, it is a crime for them to have treated you the way they did. The speed with which Dumbledore acted to expel you without a proper tribunal and the way he shipped you back to the mundane world without even allowing you time to completely heal from your ordeal was deplorable. Not to mention the sheer cruelty he displayed in confiscating your personal belongings and your owl."

"No, we will definitely _not_ be sending you back to England. As for what will happen to you; it's quite simple. I will be taking over your tri-weekly counseling sessions in order to help you deal with your traumatic experiences and once you have been given a clean bill of health by a certified healer, I will begin tutoring you in the magical arts. Had we known that you were transferring to Japan, we would have contacted you the moment you arrived to help you adjust to your new home and help you integrate yourself into our society."

The man then sighed as he tucked his wand away before he continued, "What's done is done though and all we can do now is run damage control. The first thing we need to do is arrange for you to see one of the dozens of certified healers that live and work here in Tokyo."

_I don't understand; why would you help me?_

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**Translations:** Japanese to English

Ahou – fool  
Baka – idiot  
Ne – used to solicit agreement or confirmation from the listener similar to using 'isn't it?' or 'right?' in English  
Sumimasen – I'm sorry (somewhat formal)

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**10-02-15:** _Minor edits made to chapter to fix spelling/grammar mistakes and removed unnecessary author's notes._


	9. Metaphorical Whiplash

**Disclaimer:** _I used to write out a very specific disclaimer explaining exactly what it is I don't own but I find myself not really interested in doing so as it is very tedious. Suffice it to say I own nothing that was created by anyone else and I am making no money whatsoever from the writing of this FanFiction._

**Warnings:** _Mild to moderate violence, character death, foul language, alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon from both worlds goodbye), angst, drama, and who knows what else. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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Chapter Nine: Metaphorical Whiplash

_Tuesday, May 18, 1993, Morning  
Seishun Gakuen, Tokyo, Japan_

Harry struggled for a moment before the confusion he felt drove him to ask; _I don't understand; why would you help me?_

"To answer that question, I must first explain the difference between the magical societies of Western Europe and what passes as a magical society here in Japan. The first thing you need to know is that Japan does not have a formal magical government like the various individual countries in Western Europe do. We consider ourselves to be a part of the same society as our mundane cousins and we have accepted the mundane government as our rightful government. What that basically means, is that we eat, sleep, work, live, and die right alongside our non-magical neighbors."

"Despite the lack of separation between magical and mundane, we do acknowledge that magicals have special needs that can not be fulfilled by the mundane government and as such, we established the Council of Wizard and Witches to look out for our interests. The ninety-nine members of the Council are appointed to their seats by one of four methods; public election, special circumstances, interdepartmental promotions, or through inheritance. Right now the exact breakdown of the seating assignments is not important though I will say that more than half of the members have been elected to their seats while only five seats can be considered hereditary."

"The Council's duties include upholding the International Statute of Secrecy, monitoring magical travel in and out of the country as well as between regions and prefectures, providing magical health care to all magical citizens, administering the standardized tests to insure all magicals have been properly trained upon reaching their first and second majority, monitoring all magical imports and exports, and population control for the various magical creatures and beings that are native to Japan."

"Aside from administering the O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. Exams (at ages fifteen and seventeen respectively), the Council has very little to do with the education of young magicals in Japan. The reason for that is two-fold. First of all, Japan has no formal magical academies; all of our children attend public and private schools alongside their non-magical peers. And second, Japan still maintains a master-apprentice system when it comes to magical training. We continue to use that system because we have found it to be the most effective system for training young witches and wizards to reach their full potential instead of hampering them with a generalized education."

"There a several different factors involved in the process of pairing up newly awakened apprentices with the master wizard or witch that is best suited to teach them. First, it is imperative that master and apprentice have compatible magic; there is no point in an elemental master teaching a transfiguration prodigy, after all. Second, it is preferable that master and student also have compatible personalities in order to limit potential duels throughout the apprenticeship. Third, the young magical's age, gender, and sexual orientation are factored into the equation to prevent misunderstandings of the heart or suspicion of debauchery by people who observe both master and apprentice together."

"Fourth, the potential student's power rating is taken into consideration since a weak master will have difficulties fully training an apprentice with a significantly higher power rating. And fifth, the apprentice's financial circumstances must be considered because a master with financial hardships would have difficulties providing supplies for an apprentice whose family is also having financial hardships. However, finances hardly ever factor into matters in this day and age since the Council established a scholarship fund two decades ago to help supply equipment and books to those apprentices whose families are struggling financially."

"Generally speaking, a master will be drawn to their future apprentice upon their first episode of accidental magic as their magic calls to one another and all mature witches and wizards are taught how to recognize the brush of magic from a compatible immature magical against their magic and how to trace the source to its origin. Incidentally, that is how I knew that I would find you here. In most cases, those children from magical families will be taught by a close relative since magical compatibilities are known to run in families. Magic is in our blood, after all, as is our physical heritage."

"Once first contact has been established and the parents of the potential apprentice have been introduced to their child's magical nature (in the event that they, themselves, are not magical), apprenticeship negotiations will begin. It is a long, drawn out process that involves the master testing the student to insure he or she is suitable to teach the young one. In rare cases, the negotiation stage is skipped entirely due to extenuating circumstances. One such example is your case; since you are far older than most apprentice initiates, an orphan, a foreigner, had significant core trauma in the past twelve months, and you've already received a year's worth of generalized magical training at a formalized institution."

"As such, I can not afford to spend three to five years negotiating your contract because your core is unstable at the moment. That instability places you and those around you in considerable danger since any outburst of accidental magic can turned deadly without warning if you start panicking again which in turn increases the chances that you will violate the International Statue of Secrecy. You are incredibly lucky that no one was seriously or permanently harmed by your earlier outburst; including yourself, since self-harm is often incurred during large scale outbursts like yours."

The man then finished his somewhat long-winded explanation with, "Additionally, you technically don't have a guardian present for me to enter into negotiation with since your parents are dead, your maternal aunt lives outside of Japan, and your current guardian's custody of you is not exactly legally binding from what I could discern from your memories."

Harry stared at the man with wide eyes (the former wizard turned squib turned wizard unaware that he'd knocked his eye patch off in his earlier panic) as he tried to absorb everything he'd just been told. After a couple of minutes, he dropped his gaze and lifted his hands to his temples so that he could try and sooth the massive migraine that had developed from a lack of sleep, the way he'd run himself into the ground that morning, his earlier panic attack and outburst of accidental magic, and the brief Legilimency probe that had rifled through his memories.

"Try not to stress yourself out over the details, child," the man gently instructed. "There will be plenty of time for us to cover the intricacies of Japan's magical community in more depth once you have fully recovered. For now, why don't you ask the questions I can see burning in your soul?"

Harry dropped his hands and peered at the man for a moment before he tentatively nodded in agreement and cleared the whiteboard before writing out a polite; _could you please tell me who you are?_

"Ah, forgive this old man for missing the obvious; I am far too used to the magicals I encounter knowing my name," the wizard replied with a soft chuckle of amusement over his own absentmindedness before he offered Harry a short bow that was executed from where he was kneeling beside Harry. "My name is Watanabe Satoshi and I am a Master of Mind Magics, Defensive Magics, Swordsmanship, and Magical Theory. I specialize in healing mental and emotional trauma though I am technically what you would call a Battle Mage and one of the nicknames that I earned in my youth was Madoushi Samurai."

"I am also the only fully-fledged Battle Mage in Japan that still walks amongst the living in this age of technology and science; though I do still have a handful of contemporaries from other countries around the world that are still alive today. Until I felt your magic lashing out in anger, fear, and pain earlier, I had thought that I would spend my last remaining years on earth tending to my properties and occasionally taking on clients in need of mental and emotional healing as it has been well over two decades since an apprentice's magic last called to mine."

_I'm Evans Harold_, Harry offered in turn as he tried not to get distracted by Mr. Watanabe's introduction.

"No, you are not Evans Harold. Evans Harold is only a mask you wear to hide your true self from those who wish you harm. Please introduce yourself to me properly."

Harry swallowed thickly in response to the mild rebuke before he cleared the board and hesitantly complied with the wizard's firm if politely worded order. Once he started writing, the words he wrote flowed from his heart (and his magic) instead of his mind.

_I am Harry James Potter, firstborn son of the late James Charlus and Lily Rose Potter, Britain's Boy-Who-Lived, the only known survivor of the Killing Curse, Vanquisher and Destroyer of the Dark Wizard known as Lord Voldemort, and a former student of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Until today, I was certain that my magic had been stripped from me and I am frightened and confused._

"Fear not, my little lost mage; I am here to help and guide you," Watanabe murmured as he reached out to lightly pat Harry on the head.

Harry froze the moment ancient Battle Mage touched him; the pre-teen more than a little bewildered and scared over the fact that something inside of him had hijacked his hand just now combined with the physical contact. He was also still very much in the middle of an emotional meltdown and the only reason he was reasonably calm was due to the older wizard's magic suppressing his emotions to help keep him calm until the storm passed. He managed to maintain a thin veneer of calm for all of five seconds before he swept his previous words from the board with his hands to scribble out several more questions in a near panic.

_What just happened? I didn't want to say even half those things! I didn't even know half those things! Why would I write things I don't know and don't want to write!?_

"Easy, child; do not let fear consume you. The things you wrote when you introduced yourself are things that your soul knows and that your heart wished for you to write. It was your magic that prompted you to write down the full truth of who you are the moment I instructed you to introduce yourself properly. You need not worry that any magical could just walk up to you, demand a proper introduction, and in return be forced to give said introduction. Only those who are both more powerful than you and whom your magic recognizes as a guardian, mentor, or master will draw that kind of reaction from your soul and only if some part of you is willing to accept them as your superior."

_Why do you keep calling me child, Watanabe-san?_ Harry asked as his panic receded once more.

"Because you are a child in more ways than one, little lost mage, and I am at an age that everyone is naught but a child in my eyes," Watanabe answered with a soft chortle. "And for future reference, when you address me, I would prefer that you refer to me as Watanabe-shishou or simply as shishou."

_Sumimasen, Watanabe-shishou; I still get the different forms of addressed mixed up sometimes. Ano, what happens now?_

"First, we are going to meet with the young mundane counselor that you have been seeing thrice a week and formally transfer you into my care since the young man is not properly equipped to handle your case due to the magic involved in your life and the incident which crippled you. Once we have accomplished that, I will be withdrawing you from this school for a brief time so you can seek proper healing and so we can formalize our master-apprentice contract with the Council. We will also speak to your current guardians to provide them with an explanation that will satisfy their questions and concerns."

_Ano, Ryuzaki-sensei and Tezuka-buchou were in here earlier when I first panicked and I think I saw Natsume-san at one point. Could… could you tell me if they are okay?_ Harry asked as he vaguely recalled who he had been with just before he'd had his panic attack after Master Watanabe's reference to Mr. Natsume triggered his memory.

"Relax, child; your magic did not cause any lasting harm to any of the individuals mentioned or anyone else on within the school. All you did was push a few things around, shove a couple of people off their feet, knock the school's power out, and catch the attention of those magicals whose would have sensed your outburst. And no, you will not be punished or reprimanded for having an accidental outburst on the school grounds; it is quite obvious that your outburst was not intentional. The only real repercussion you can expect to face from the incident is a bit of open curiosity from amongst your magical peers that were magically sensitive enough to have felt your outburst."

_Arigatou, Watanabe-shishou,_ Harry scribbled in reply as he felt relief at knowing he hadn't hurt anyone (something he hadn't caught the first time Master Watanabe had mentioned it) while ignoring that bit about his outburst drawing the curious to his side since he wasn't really in the right frame of mind to deal with that sort of thing at the moment.

"Did you have any other questions for me?"

_How am I supposed to learn magic if all I have are the pieces of a broken wand?_

"You will not need to worry about a wand any time soon; it will take at least a year for your core to stabilize and you yourself will need that time to heal mentally and physically from your ordeals. Once I am certain that you are ready to concern yourself with wand work, I will take you to commission a replacement wand for the one that was destroyed by the fools who sent you into exile broken and defenseless."

_Will I still be able to attend classes here at Seigaku?_

"Yes, I am only pulling you out temporarily so we might take care of those things that can't wait and to give you time to regain a little control over your emotions.

_And will you still allow me to remain in the Tennis Club?_

"Again, yes; your physical health is just as important as your magical, mental, and emotional health and an active wizard is a wizard who will find himself faced with fewer ailments when he reaches his sixth decade and enters the true prime of his life. I am also not blind to the promise written on your soul in regards to this tennis club you speak of."

_I was angry at the time and my pride got in the way,_ Harry reluctantly admitted as he thought back to the day he'd made that silly bet with Mr. Echizen.

"Yes, I had noticed that as well, my little bull-headed apprentice. Was that the last of your questions, child?"

_I think so, Watanabe-shishou._

"Then let us begin attending to business, child," Watanabe stated as he gracefully rose to his feet before he helped Harry up.

He then cast another spell to gather the rest of Harry's scattered belongings that he then passed to Harry; the pre-teen only just now noticing that the old wizard had been casting his spells silently. Any curiosity he felt about silent casting abruptly vanished the moment he caught sight of the eye patch he'd just been handed as his right hand reflexively flew up to hide his uncovered ruined eye. Mortification filled Harry as he wondered just how long his eye had been uncovered and just how many people might have seen it.

After a few seconds, Harry quickly returned the patch to its proper place. His book bag was then slung over his shoulder along with the red tennis bag holding his practice racquet while he kept out his whiteboard and the marker in case he needed to communicate with anyone. Master Watanabe offered him a smile once he was ready before the wizard opened the office door and ushered Harry out of the room. As soon as he stepped through the door, Harry's eye landed on Coach Ryuzaki and Mr. Natsume standing just a short distance away from the door.

_Sumimasen, Ryuzaki-sensei; I did not mean to cause you so much trouble this morning_, Harry quickly wrote out before he angled the whiteboard so Coach Ryuzaki could read what he read while he offered a respectful bow to her at the same time.

"Don't stress yourself out about it, Evans-kun; I know you aren't one of my usual troublemakers," Coach Ryuzaki replied as she made an aborted attempt to ruffle his hair; the woman obviously recalling how it had been her touch that had triggered his earlier melt-down.

"You are one of this child's instructors?" Master Watanabe inquired as he stepped up beside Harry at the same time as the young wizard straightened himself up.

"Yes, I am his tennis coach."

"Then I will inform you now that I will be pulling your student out of school for the remainder of the day and that he will not be returning until Friday, at the earliest, or Monday, at the latest. I will clear his leave of absence with the school's administration before we leave today."

"I appreciate you informing me of your intentions and will mark his leave of absence in the books for the week."

Master Watanabe then turned to address Mr. Natsume, "If you will lead us to your office, there are a few matters I wish to discuss with you before we leave."

"Of course, Watanabe-dono; if you will follow me?"

Harry trailed along behind the two adults as they made their way towards the administration building where Mr. Natsume's office was located. He was then left waiting outside of the office while Master Watanabe had a discussion with his counselor. As he stood propped up against the wall waiting for the wizard, Harry felt a wealth of insecurities bubble up from the depths of his subconsciousness. He had no idea why he was so willing to trust the strange wizard after his unpleasant experiences with most magical adults in the past.

Harry didn't even know what to think or how to feel about the revelation that Dumbledore and Pomfrey had lied about his magic being gone. He also couldn't forget the harsh words that his aunt had spoken to Dumbledore about how she wasn't going to allow the bearded wizard to send Harry to his grave like he had her sister. Nor could he forget how Petunia had dragged him to Gringotts to pull his inheritance out of the wizarding world to prevent wizards from stealing it because of the supposed loss of his magic.

He wasn't certain if that implied that Dumbledore had been after the money that his parents had left him all along or if that was just his aunt overreacting to what had happened. That led to him worrying that his recent magical outburst might have drawn the attention of Dumbledore or that Master Watanabe would contact Dumbledore and tell the bearded wizard where Harry had gone. He then began wondering if anything had happened to his aunt after she'd tossed him on the plane. He may not have liked Petunia all that much and he still thought Dudley and Vernon were bullies but that didn't mean he wanted them harmed because of him.

"I really have my work cut out for me if I can't even leave you alone for five minutes without you working yourself into a right panic, child," Master Watanabe dryly declared and the unexpected sound of his voice startled Harry as he had not heard the office door open.

_Sumimasen, Watanabe-shishou._

"Hnn, well come along, child; we still have much to do today before we meet with your current guardians. You may start by leading me in the direction of the principle's office so that I may speak to him in regards to your coming absences."

Harry nodded in compliance and pushed himself away from the wall before he led the wizard to the secretary's station just outside of the principle's office. Harry was then once again left outside of the office while Master Watanabe spoke to the principle and he spent that time absently leafing through the magazines in the waiting area outside of the office in an effort not to think. It didn't quite work since he couldn't focus on anything but the jumbled tangle of questions and concerns that were seething in his mind.

"We are definitely going to have to do something about all of that angst you've been bottling up inside of you," Master Watanabe sighed as he took one look at Harry the moment he existed the principle's office. "Come, child, it is time for us to leave."

The green-eyed freshman winced in regards to the man's observation before he pushed himself to his feet and trailed after the aged wizard as the man navigated his way out of the building. Master Watanabe quickly led Harry towards the front entrance and out through the open gates of the main entrance. The wizard then unexpectedly walked up to a bright red motorized scooter that was parked just beneath the sign announcing the name of the school.

"Come now, little mage; no need to be shy," Master Watanabe chided when Harry had stopped walking to all but gape at the scooter as he tried to wrap his mind around the concept of a wizard driving something so muggle.

Harry shook himself out of his stupor in response to the order and approached the man only to hesitate when he realized that the wizard intended for Harry to climb on and ride behind him. He wasn't certain that he trusted the man enough to actually climb onto a vehicle and allow him to take him who knew where. The fact that he'd basically been obeying the man with little hesitation since he first laid eyes on him wasn't exactly doing the man any favors in the trust department. Harry wasn't completely ignorant of the fact that wizard had spells and potions that could force a person to do things against their will.

"We are going to have to work on that too," Master Watanabe stated in a saddened tone. "It is a crime for a child's trust to be so broken when he hasn't even reached his first majority. It has been nearly a century since I have seen a child of magic treated so callously that he can't even trust his magic or his heart to guide him. Well, we can look at fixing that after we get you to a proper healer. For now, will it ease your mind if I give you a wizard's promise that I mean you no harm?"

Harry tipped his head to one side and wrinkled his brow in confusion over the unfamiliar term before he used his whiteboard to ask; _what is a wizard's promise?_

"It is a promise made on one's magic and it is the weakest vow that a magical being can make. Magical promises are seen as guarantees between two sentient magical beings, whether they are human or not, that confirm there is no ill-will intended between parties. Breaking a magical promise will not physically or magically harm the person breaking their word but it will leave a stain on their honor and other magical beings will not trust them without a significantly more powerful and binding vow or oath when dealing with such persons."

"An example would be a kitsune promising to play no tricks on a human that has granted the kitsune permission to hunt on the human's property. Another example would be a wizard promising to listen to an enemy who has requested a parley to resolve their differences. That should have been one of the first things you learned the moment you began your magical education when you were first taught wizarding traditions."

_Hogwarts didn't have any classes on wizarding traditions._

"That explains much," Master Watanabe grumbled sourly before he dug a pair of helmets from out of what was obviously a magical compartment built into the passenger seat of the scooter (the helmets wouldn't have both fit into it otherwise). "That will have to be one of the second things I rectify. Well, let us be moving; we are wasting valuable daylight and we still have much to do. And Potter-kun, you have my _**word**_ that I will neither harm you nor deliver you to another that means you harm."

Harry could _feel_ the power in Master Watanabe's promise. And while he didn't suddenly trust the wizard, he did at least feel a bit more comfortable over the idea of leaving the school with the man. Two minutes later, Harry was wearing a bright yellow helmet and clinging to the back of Master Watanabe's haori as they sped through the streets of Tokyo (his things safely secured in the compartment that the helmets had been pulled from). They hadn't been on the road for very long when Harry picked up on three startling facts.

One, they were moving at least two times faster than the rest of the traffic. Two, the traffic lights were always green when they reached an intersection and therefore didn't need to stop. And three, the other drivers never seemed to notice them as they flew passed them.

His conclusion?

There was definitely something a little magical about the motorized scooter he was on (no ordinary scooter could hit an excess of a hundred klicks per hour) and Master Watanabe was a scary-crazy kind of driver.

Harry also loved the feel of the wind rushing passed his face; it reminded him of flying.

They didn't stop until they reached what Harry assumed was their destination; a small nondescript building painted a drab gray and lacking both windows and a sign identifying its nature. Master Watanabe collected the helmet Harry had worn and locked it in the scooter's compartment with the orange one that he'd worn before he escorted the pre-teen inside the building. The moment Harry stepped inside of the building, he knew he was in a hospital of some kind; he could smell the jumbled mix of healing potions wafting on the air and the underlying hint of flowery bleach that he recognized from the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts.

"Welcome to Tokyo's Pediatric Health Clinic for Immature Magical Beings," the receptionist announced as the door swung shut behind the pair. "How may our esteemed healers be of assistance to you this morning?"

"I have an urgent case for Healer Kyomoto involving core trauma, creature damage, and a botched ritual," Master Watanabe stated as he crossed over to the door leading into the back and gestured for Harry to catch up to him. "I will be waiting for her in the first available room on the blue wing."

"I will inform Healer Kyomoto immediately, Watanabe-dono," the receptionist stated as she picked up a phone.

Feeling more than a little bewildered, Harry scampered after Master Watanabe as the man disappeared through the door without even bothering to open it. The door turned out to be similar to the portal for Platform Nine and Three-Quarters at King's Cross; though he had no clue as to why such a portal would be necessary in a medical clinic. Once on the other side of the door, Harry glanced back and found himself looking into the waiting room instead of at the other side of the door. The one-way viewing through the door brought to mind the one-way mirrors found in an interrogation room.

"Try to keep up, child; it is far too easy to get lost in here if you don't know where you are going."

Snapping back around, Harry scrambled after the ancient Battle Mage as he tried not to allow his attention to be caught by all of the strange sights that filled the clinic. Neither Diagon Alley nor Hogwarts had prepared him for something of the things he'd caught glimpses of as he followed Master Watanabe through a maze of Hallways. He saw a baby burping up bubbles that cried when popped, a boy growing a tree out of his left nostril, and a young teen with fox ears and three tails that changed colors each time she sneezed. He also saw door knockers that talked, furniture that walked, and large flocks of origami birds that flew along the ceiling in a way that reminded Harry of Owl Mail.

"In here, child," Master Watanabe instructed as they turned down one of the quieter hallways and came to a stop outside of a door that had been painted in soothing shades of blue with a large gold number nine affixed to it; identical doors (each bearing a different number) lined the rest of the hallway.

The color scheme continued on the inside of the room. Every where Harry looked was the color blue; even the furniture and medical instruments in the room were blue. The entire room gave Harry the impression that he was standing under water. Despite the weirdness of feeling like he'd been swallowed by a lake, Harry found being surrounded by nothing but blue strangely soothing. He didn't even make a fuss when Master Watanabe picked him up and set him on top of the examination table sitting in the middle of the room.

"What kind of trouble are you getting mixed up in this time, you old fraud?" a woman dressed in green scrubs and a white doctor's coat demanded as she stepped into the room just a couple of minutes later.

Hearing Master Watanabe referred to as a fraud brought Harry's earlier insecurities back and he snapped his head to the side to stare at the ancient wizard with distrust. He couldn't help but think he must have been tricked somehow into trusting the man even a little.

"While I normally don't mind your brand of teasing, I would ask you to please refrain from frightening my little lost mage further; his trust is already fragile enough as it is," Master Watanabe chided as he briefly frowned at the healer before he addressed Harry. "Relax, child; Healer Kyomoto Asami is the granddaughter of an old family friend and as such she tends to treat me with far less respect than one's elders are due. Asami-chan, allow me to introduce you to, Evans Harold; my apprentice."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Evans-kun," Healer Kyomoto greeted warmly as she approached the examination table and offered Harry a warm smile that Harry could just make out from beneath his fringe as he tucked his chin to his chest. She then turned to Master Watanabe and asked, "Your apprentice? He's not just a client? I thought you'd sworn against ever taking on another student."

"No, I swore I would never again teach my craft to the spoiled children of rich men with far more money than brains; not that I would turn away an apprentice whose magic called out to mine. I still have my honor and I would never turn away a child in need."

"I could never doubt your honor, Watanabe-shishou; I just doubt your honesty when it comes to fresh made pork buns and dango," Healer Kyomoto countered with a tinkling laugh. "So, how long have you been training your apprentice and why you haven't brought him to see me sooner? And what was this I heard about core trauma, creature damage, and a botched ritual? It's not like you to allow your students to be so reckless."

"I only just found the child this morning, Asami-chan. His injuries and scars were gained just under a year earlier and the fools who treated him did not even see to it that he had been properly healed before they cast him away."

"Oh, that means that it was your uncontrolled magic we all felt earlier."

"Indeed," Master Watanabe agreed as he slipped his hands into the wide sleeves of his kimono of the opposite arm before he stepped back to watch Healer Kyomoto work.

"Well, let me take a look and see what it is I am working with here," Healer Kyomoto murmured to herself as she reached out towards Harry's face only for her to freeze when Harry flinched away from her hand. "Be calm, Evans-kun, I only wished to see your face; I am not used to my older patients hiding from me."

Harry flinched again before he slowly lifted his face so that the healer would not have to touch him. He squirmed beneath her gaze when her eyes were inevitably drawn to his covered eye and scar. She reached out towards his face a second time, as if to touch the scar on his face, but retracted her hand before she actually touched him.

"Evans-kun, please remove the eye-patch and glasses you are wearing so that I may see how much damage was done to your eye," Healer Kyomoto gently but firmly instructed.

Harry hesitated for a moment before he complied with the polite order.

* * *

**Translations:** Japanese to English

Ano – um/uh  
Arigatou – thank you  
Hai – yes  
Madoushi – sorcerer  
Madoushi Samurai – Samurai Sorcerer (not one hundred percent certain on this one)  
Shishou – master (as in master/teacher to apprentice/student NOT master/owner to slave)  
Sumimasen – I'm sorry (formal)

**Notes:**

Klicks – a reference to kilometers

* * *

**AN:** _There will be more in how Japan's magical society developed differently from Britain's magical society in later chapters; so if you are confused, don't worry it will be explained in more detail later. Their approach to magic and magical education will also be very different (in case it wasn't obvious) and Harry will be at a loss at points since what he is now learning is far different from what he'd been taught at Hogwarts. An example would be the way his magic hijacked his introduction. _

_The next chapter will pick up right from where this one left off and it will delve deeper into Harry's physical health and explain what happened to Harry during Voldemort's botched ritual and why it seemed that he'd lost his magic. It will not, however, touch upon Dumbledore's reasons for expelling Harry, confiscating most of his things, and kicking him out of the magical world so quickly. That will be explored in later chapters (much later chapters). ~ Jenn_

**10-02-15:** _Minor edits made to chapter to fix spelling/grammar mistakes and removed unnecessary author's notes._


	10. A Whirlwind of Truth

**Disclaimer:** _I used to write out a very specific disclaimer explaining exactly what it is I don't own but I find myself not really interested in doing so as it is very tedious. Suffice it to say I own nothing that was created by anyone else and I am making no money whatsoever from the writing of this FanFiction._

**Warnings:** _Mild to moderate violence, character death, foul language, alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon from both worlds goodbye), angst, drama, and who knows what else. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

Chapter Ten: A Whirlwind of Truth

_Tuesday, May 18, 1993, Late Morning  
Pediatric Health Clinic for Immature Magical Beings  
Tokyo, Japan_

The healer stared at his eye for a long minute before she drew a wand from her coat pocket. She then immediately began waving her wand over and around Harry's face and head for several minutes; the expression on her face growing grimmer with each wave of her wand. After several minutes, Healer Kyomoto finally lowered her wand and Harry eyed her warily as the look on her face distinctly reminded him of Uncle Vernon when the man was particularly livid.

"Who was the bumbling idiot that poured undiluted phoenix tears directly onto your face without bothering to flush the venom out of the wound?" Healer Kyomoto lowly demanded in a calm and steady voice that was completely at odds with the look on her face.

"A phoenix cried them directly onto his wounds shortly after he received the injury from an ancient basilisk."

"A basilisk…? An actual basilisk? How in the name of Amaterasu's Flames did the beast not kill him the moment it gazed upon him? For that matter, how did he stumble upon a living basilisk at his age? One does not just find the cursed creatures slithering about in the wild! Do you really expect me to believe that a wild phoenix just happened to show up out of the blue in time to cry on the boy after he'd been mauled by a basilisk? And why in the world are you answering for the child, Watanabe-shishou?"

"The child is mute; his throat was slashed during the botched ritual," Master Watanabe replied as he eyed Harry's now crossed arms and mulish expression. "He has not yet been taught sign language and I did not think to grab his writing things before we entered the building or he could have written out his own replies for you. As for your other questions; it is probably best that you view the child's memory of the sequence of events that left him mute, half blind, and his core severely stressed and unstable. I should also point out that the phoenix was not a wild bird as I had recognized the creature's rather distinct coloration when I viewed the memory."

"Someone with a pet phoenix allowed it to cry directly upon the wounds inflicted by a basilisk? What idiot would allow the bird to do such a thing? Phoenixes are not trained healers; they are dimwitted birds with brains the size of a millet seed! Any idiot with half a brain would have had the damn bird regularly milked for his tears to prevent such a thing."

"The bird in question belongs to one Dumbledore Albus," Master Watanabe drawled distastefully.

The healer's face took on a pinched expression for the briefest of moments before she muttered out, "Well, that would certainly explain a lot of things." Her voice then returned to a more normal volume as she continued, "You mentioned a memory; would that memory include the treatment that Evans-kun received after he'd been so severely injured?"

"No, unfortunately it will not; since the child was most likely unconscious or spelled asleep throughout the course of his treatment," Master Watanabe replied as he withdrew a hand-thrown clay bowl the size of a salad bowl decorated with strange carvings and paintings from a hidden pocket.

The wizard then deposited the bowl on the table beside Harry. Harry felt more than a little curious as he eyed the cloudy liquid that was swirling around inside the bowl; part of him wondering how it was the liquid hadn't spilled out while the bowl had been kept in the pocket. He also wasn't quite certain how such a large bowl could have fit in such a tiny pocket to begin with (aside from the fact that there had to be magic involved) since he had not learned about Expansion Charms before he'd been expelled.

"Child, please look at me and concentrate only on the night you were injured and everything that happened right up until you were returned to your aunt's house so that I can draw out those memories for Healer Kyomoto to view," Master Watanabe instructed as he withdrew his wand next.

The man gazed into Harry's eye the moment the green eyed boy indicated he had done as asked and tapped his wand to Harry's left temple before slowly pulling it away. Harry could feel something tugging on his mind at the same time. A few seconds later, he felt the tugging stop with a snapping sensation not unlike the rebound of a rubber band that had been stretched out; only without any pain. Shaking away the strange sensation, Harry dropped his gaze to Master Watanabe's wand and felt confused when he saw the tangled mass of thick, silvery-gray, threads hanging from the tip.

"Your memories from that night and what followed after," Master Watanabe explained as he gestured to the tangled threads clinging to his wand with his free hand. He then deposited the threads in the cloudy liquid inside of the bowl and gave the mixture a brief stir to free the memories from the tip. "The bowl is a magical artifact called a pensieve; it is an instrument used by those who are not very adept in using the mind arts to view memories. Some people foolishly store memories inside of them but that is just inviting curious or unscrupulous individuals to take a peep without permission."

"Will you be reviewing the memory with me?" Healer Kyomoto inquired as she held her hand out over top of the swirling liquid in the Pensieve.

"No, I have already skimmed through those memories."

The healer nodded before she dropped her hand down to plunge a single finger inside of the bowl. The woman was then sucked down into the bowl the moment she touched the liquid and Harry would have cried out in shock if he could. Once he got over his shock, he slipped his glasses back on and curiously peered into the bowl and was surprised when he could see what looked like a miniaturized copy of the woman standing inside of the cloudy liquid while the gray threads of his memory swirled around her.

"Fascinating bit of magic, is it not?" Master Watanabe inquired as he joined Harry in watching the bowl and Harry nodded in agreement. "It is always good to appreciate the things that magic allows us to accomplish but never forget that magic is a gift that can be as dangerous as a mundane bomb or as beneficial as medicine. Those of us born with magic have the responsibility to use it wisely; though not all of us do. Some are even foolish enough to abuse magic; lazily using their gift to avoid all physical activities, even for simple little things such as cooking or cleaning."

Master Watanabe fell to grumbling about lazy wizards and witches under his breath while Harry actually started thinking about what magic meant to him instead of worrying about the fact that the healer was viewing his memories. When he had first been told his magic was gone, he'd felt as his entire world had been stolen from him. He wasn't really sure if it was the magic he had missed or if he had just missed what magic represented to him. It wasn't as if he'd missed casting spells or brewing, after all. No, he'd longed for the castle that had become his home, the friends he'd thought he'd found, and the freedom he'd felt the moment his feet had first left the ground.

Harry would be drawn from his reflections roughly forty minutes later when Healer Kyomoto was suddenly ejected from the pensieve. Upon landing on her feet, the woman's hand had snaked out and latched onto Harry's chin and held his head perfectly still as she leaned so close their noses were nearly touching; her eyes locked onto the spot where his lightning bolt scar had once sat. She even reached up and poked at that part of his forehead with her wand a couple of times before she began casting spells at his forehead.

"In the three centuries since the Killing Curse was first created, there has only ever been one person purported to have survived a correctly cast Killing Curse that made direct contact with the victim," Healer Kyomoto stated when she finally stopped casting and released Harry's chin as she stepped back to meet Harry's gaze.

"When tales first began flying out of England about a baby that had survived the unsurvivable in nineteen-eighty-one, top healers around the world clamored for access to the child to confirm or disprove the theory that the child had actually been hit with the spell. Many wished to learn the secret of his survival so future lives could be saved. Others merely wished to determine if there had been any negative side-effects that could do harm to the babe. Dumbledore refused on the grounds that he would not allow the child to be turned into an experiment."

Healer Kyomoto paused for a moment as her gaze slid to the side to focus on something only she could see. When she began speaking once more, her voice had turned reflective, "After Dumbledore had refused those requests, a lot of people came to the conclusion that the tales of a survivor were fabricated and his refusal to allow renowned healers to examine the child was actually a cover up to prevent from getting caught out in the lie. I was one of those that thought the rumors of the child surviving the Killer Curse were false right up until I viewed your memories just now."

"The basilisk was killed by a Killing Curse aimed directly into the beast's mouth," Healer Kyomoto continued as her eyes once again focused on Harry's forehead. "That spell was not cast by an adult wizard hiding somewhere in that stone chamber. Not only would the path of the curse have been all wrong but the Killing Curse is one of the few curses that can not be cast silently. It has to be spoken verbally because it requires a certain amount of hate to cast it correctly and that hate is usually gauged by the amount of snarl infused into the incantation of the spell."

"And yet, there is no denying that the Killing Curse is what had destroyed the basilisk; that particular shade of acidic green magic can not be reproduced by anything less than a properly cast Killing Curse. A Killing Curse that had somehow been captured and stored for eleven years in a scar shaped like a lightning bolt on the face of a young boy until that scar was damaged by the basilisk's attack. Some would even venture to say that the scar that had once graced your brow was actually the rune sowilo, which represents the sun, from the Elder Futhark alphabet. It is known to be a protective rune that can be tied directly to one's life force and health."

"Your mother and father would have had to sacrifice their very souls to power that rune with enough magic to withstand the destructive powers of the Killing Curse," Healer Kyomoto finished in a soft tone. "Do you have any memories of what happened the night your parents died, Evans-kun? Or should I say, Potter-kun?"

Harry shrugged in response to the first question since he didn't think he had any memories from that night (though he had had some strange, frightening dreams of a green light and menacing laughter when he had been younger). He then promptly shook his head no in response to the second question; it was bad enough that she'd learned who he was just by watching his memories.

"Address the child as Evans; his maternal aunt legally changed his name to hide from those that would seek him out either to harm him or to drag him back to Britain against his will," Master Watanabe instructed the healer in Harry's place.

"As you wish," Healer Kyomoto acquiesced before her expression turned thunderous. "That brings us to the next issue I noticed in the memories. Whose stupid idea was it to place an Alchemic Loadstone in a school full of children and pass it off as a Philosopher's Stone? Only an ignorant idiot wouldn't recognize the difference between the two stones just by color alone. Philosopher's Stones are ruby-red, have hairline cracks running through them, and glow with an inner light while Loadstones are blood red, flawless, and only reflect light."

"Even if a person didn't recognize a Loadstone at first sight, they should have realized what it was the moment they picked it up since Philosopher's Stones radiate warmth and magic while Loadstones are cold and absorb any magic they come into contact with. Pouring a wizard's lifeblood on an unbound Loadstone was just sheer stupidity; the sheer level of magic in a dying wizard's blood is dangerous and difficult to control at the best of times. On top of that, the Loadstone would have been absorbing ambient magic from the school the moment it had entered the wards as well as from the artifact that it had been hidden inside; meaning the stone was already a ticking time bomb by the time it had been collected from that silly mirror."

"Pouring the potent life's blood of a powerful young wizard onto the stone triggered the bomb and it's a miracle that the resulting explosion didn't kill everyone in that stone chamber or bring the chamber down around their ears. The fact that the fragments of the shattered Loadstone were not removed from the child's body is most likely what caused them to believe that his magic had been stripped from him since those fragments (emptied of the magic they had once held due to the explosion) would have absorbed his magic from his bloodstream and from the diagnostic spell."

"Once in the bloodstream, the Loadstone fragments were drawn towards his heart because the core is where the largest concentration of magic is located. Upon reaching his heart, they would have blocked the transference points that release magic into the blood. Left alone, the fragments would have fused together to form a near solid barrier around his core and prevented his magic from entering his bloodstream; mimicking a blocked or bound core. The Loadstone fragments have a limited capacity for how much magic they can store and once they stopped absorbing his magic, they would have acted as a barrier holding his magic in his core."

"More than a few of the fragments were also drawn to the potent mix of tears and venom in his eye and in the scars on his face but the less said about the volatile mixture of unfiltered phoenix tears and concentrated basilisk venom the better or I'm liable to have an burst of accidental magic myself. The only good thing to come out of that mess was the fact that the Loadstone fragments prevented the magic in the venom and tears from spreading out and causing further damage. As terrible as that mess is, the presence of the Loadstone fragments is the real problem."

"Due to the small size of the fragments, they would not be capable of holding anywhere near as much magic as the original Loadstone; meaning that they would have reached full capacity fairly quickly and simply restrained his magic from that point forward. Overtime, his core would have reached the point where it simply couldn't hold another drop of magic and the pressure would have eventually grown great enough that fragmented barrier would have shattered. The amount of time that would have taken dependent upon the child's power rating, his magical production rate, and the amount of physical and/or emotional stress he'd been under over the intervening months."

"It's a miracle the fragments didn't explode a second time when the pressure grew too intense rather than just crack back into thousands of fragments that were once again dispersed throughout his body by his bloodstream. Those will need to be removed or they will eventually make their way back to his heart again and he might not be lucky enough to survive the inevitable oversurge of magic a second time."

Rant slash explanation finished, Healer Kyomoto spun away from the two of them and began pulling out an assortment of medical and magical instruments from the various cupboards and drawers in the room as she instructed, "Evans-kun, please step behind the blue screen behind you and change into the hospital gown on the bench; I will need to give you a proper check up to determine what other ailments might have been missed. Watanabe-shishou, please dig out some writing instruments as I will need him able to answer questions that you might not yet know the answers to."

Five minutes later, Harry was wrapped in a medium blue hospital gown seated on the table and armed with a pad of pale blue paper and a dark blue crayon. He was not impressed but he supposed he should be thankful he hadn't ended up in the 'pink room' instead (the twelve year old not aware that everything inside the blue room was laced over with calming charms to prevent overly emotional patients from growing too stressed during their examination). Over the course of the next hour and a half, Harry would be subjected to the most thorough magical exam he'd ever received. A dozen fluid and tissue samples were extracted through magical means, he was poked and prodded by a dozen different devices, and spells had flowed from the healer's wand in a near unending stream.

Once the exam was complete, he was subjected to a grueling course of cures in the form of potions, healing spells, and counter spells that left every inch of him tingling. He was quite certain that Madam Pomfrey had not been anywhere near as thorough during the handful of times that he'd ended up in her care while at Hogwarts. By the time the ordeal was over, Harry felt clean and light in a way he never had before, as if some dark weight had been lifted from him. He also felt sleepy and relaxed.

"Here is a strict diet that Evans-kun will need to follow for the next year," Healer Kyomoto stated as she passed a sheaf of papers to Master Watanabe one sheet at a time. "Here is his prescription for the nutritional and corrective potions he will need to consume before each meal for the next two weeks. This prescription is for the draught he will need to drink directly before he takes a bath and for the crystallized elixir that he will need to add to his bath water and soak in for an hour each day for the next thirty days to dissolve the Loadstone fragments in his bloodstream."

"This is the list of magical restrictions he will be under until his core has stabilized and all traces of the Loadstone have been removed. This next list is the physical restrictions I am placing him on until he has finished his potions course. The last thing I have for you is an exercise program that he will need to start implementing within the next few days. Please be sure to see the reception on the way out to make a follow up appointment in two weeks so I can check his progress."

Master Watanabe examined each item he was given before the entire stack vanished into one of the man's many hidden pockets. Harry was then shooed back behind the blue screen in order to get dressed where he spent a full minute staring at his scars in the full length mirror that was stuck to the wall. While it had not been possible to completely remove the scars, Healer Kyomoto had used a series of spells and creams to reduce their appearance so that they didn't stand out quite so much. He was glad to see they didn't look anywhere near as gruesome as they had before even if they were still far too prominent for his liking.

"Hurry up, child; we still have much to do today," Master Watanabe chided suddenly; his voice spurring Harry into action.

Once dressed, Harry was hustled out of the clinic (the two of them pausing only long enough to make his follow up appointment) and back onto Master Watanabe's scooter. The two of them would then make three separate stops. The first stop had been to drop off Harry's assorted prescriptions at a nearby pharmacy in a normal drug store that had a magical section hidden out of sight. Their second stop had been to grab a bite to eat since Harry's examination and treatment had extended well into the afternoon and it had been over twenty-four hours since Harry had last eaten. The third stop was at the Tokyo branch office of Japan's Council of Wizards and Witches in order to file his apprenticeship with the Council.

When they had finished their business with the Council (which included applying for an Orphan's Scholarship to pay for his magical supplies and equipment since his inheritance was considered untouchable by the Council), the two of them would swing back by the pharmacy to collect his prescriptions before heading to the Echizens. Harry would actually fall asleep during the drive; the twelve year old exhausted from everything that had happened since Mr. Natsume first grilled him about the night he'd faced Quirrell and Voldemort over twenty-four hours ago. They would arrive a half hour earlier than Harry usually returned from school since joining the Tennis Club to the confusion of his hosts.

Harry was then sent upstairs to pack an overnight bag with enough clothes for a week and any magical items he had brought with him to Japan while Master Watanabe spoke to Mr. and Mrs. Echizen about Harry's apprenticeship and various medical treatments. He was not certain whether or not the two adults that were only sort-of his guardians would be informed of his magical heritage at the same time. As soon as Harry had finished packing, he headed back downstairs to wait by the door for Master Watanabe as instructed; his mind reeling with everything he'd learned throughout the day but incapable of actually processing anything because he was still so tired.

"Come, child; it is time for us to take our leave," Master Watanabe instructed just a few minutes later as he was led back to the door by Mr. Echizen. As Harry stepped through the door, he heard the wizard addressed Mr. Echizen one last time before he followed Harry outside. "You can expect to hear from me by Thursday evening with an update on the child's progress and whether or not it will be necessary for me to keep him for the weekend as well. If you or your wife think of any additional questions you wish to ask of me, do not hesitate to call me at the number I gave you."

The next thing Harry knew, the two of them were on the scooter once more and this time they were headed out of Tokyo and into the countryside. If he had thought they were moving fairly fast within the confines of the city limits, it was nothing compared to the speeds the little scooter reached once they hit the highways and left the majority of the traffic behind. They were moving so fast that Harry couldn't even read the signs and therefore had no clue as to where they were going aside from the fact that they were heading north if the faint glow of the dying twilight on his left wasn't just the lights from another large city.

Harry would fall asleep a second time roughly a half an hour out of Tokyo. Master Watanabe would rouse him once they'd arrived at their destination and Harry groggily gathered up his things before he stumbled after the old wizard; the pre-teen far too tired to glance about the grounds of his temporary lodgings for the next few nights. Once inside, Harry was led to the kitchen where he was given supper and his next dose of potions. The moment he'd choked down the final bite of food, he was escorted to an empty bedroom that held nothing but a rolled up futon, a small stack of blankets, and one pillow and told to go to bed.

Too tired to argue about being ordered to bed like a toddler, Harry dumped his things in a corner, made a half-hearted attempt to arrange his 'bed', and promptly went back to sleep. Under normal circumstances, Harry might have had trouble falling to sleep in an unfamiliar room but he was far too exhausted from the long day for his normal insecurities to keep him awake. His sleep would be blessedly free of nightmares that night simply because his head had been crammed with too much information. He would also be allowed to sleep in the next morning for the first and last time while he was staying with Master Watanabe.

Once he was up, Master Watanabe gave him a short tour of the small cabin that consisted of a single bedroom, a bathing room, the kitchen, and a small receiving room. That cabin would essentially be Harry's home any time he stayed with Master Watanabe and where he would eat, sleep, and bathe. Another six such cabins sat off to either side of the one Harry had slept in and were intended to each house between one and five apprentices. They were a left over relic from the days when his master (and his master's wife) used to have dozens of apprentices running about the property.

His master lived in a rather modest two story house smack dab in the middle of the large magical ranch slash reserve that he owned; the apprentice cabins spread out behind the main house in a semicircle. Harry was informed that the main house was off-limits to him for the duration of his current stay; something about his time there being about screwing his head on right and not socializing. In the same breath, Harry learned that the Battle Mage was married to a Rune Master whose medium of choice for her magical works was hand-thrown clay pottery and porcelain.

After a small breakfast, Harry was given a full tour of the property; with Master Watanabe pointing out which areas he would be allowed to wander in and which ones he was forbidden from entering. The latter included his wife's workshops and the building that housed the kilns she used to fire her finished products as well as the pastures that housed some of the more temperamental magical creatures that lived on the reserve. Some of the places he was allowed to visit were the manmade hot springs, the stables where the non-magical horses were kept, and the large cherry grove that sat behind the apprentice cabins.

At the end of the tour, Harry was sent to soak in the tub for an hour to start the process of ridding his body of the Loadstone fragments. He spent a few minutes reading the direction on the draught he was supposed to drink and on the crystals that were meant to go in the tub before he drank the potion and measured out the appropriate amount of the crystals into the tub.

He was somewhat surprised to learn that the draught would draw the fragments towards his stomach where they would be dissolved by the draught enhanced acid in his stomach and the resulting mixture voided one hour after consumption. In turn, the crystallized elixir that was released into the hot water of the bath would be absorbed by his body and once inside, it would also be drawn towards his stomach and the fragments it came into contact with would be dissolved and carried with it. The fumes he inhaled through the rising steam would do the same through his lungs.

It was not an instantaneous process though, since the amount of stone that could be dissolved during the one hour process was rather limited; hence why he'd need to repeat the process once a day for the duration of thirty days. The only side effects he would have to deal with was diarrhea and a slight burning when urinating immediately after the bath due to how quickly the mixture of dissolved Loadstone and potions traveled through his digestive system. It was not exactly a pleasant process but he didn't really have a choice in the matter; not if he wanted to survive to reach adulthood.

Once he'd finished soaking and voided the results of his first treatment, Harry took a quick shower to rinse off the residue of the crystals before he dressed and made his way to the kitchen for lunch. As soon as he stepped into the room he stumbled to a stop when his eyes landed on the strange creature occupying the room. It had huge ears that looked like a cross between a bat wing and a fox's ear, large round eyes the size of tennis balls that were electric blue in color, a long nose that brought to mind the snout of an anteater, and stood only two feet tall. It was wearing clothes that looked to have been made entirely out of grass, leaves, and bark sewn together with bright red thread.

"Child, meet Kashiwagi; he is a wild brownie, what the British typically call house elves, that lives on this land," Master Watanabe stated as he gestured towards the little being. "He has agreed to cook your meals for you while you are staying here. If you wish to thank him for this kindness, just leave him an offering of flowers, fruit, thread, buttons, or something similar that you have purchased, picked, or created yourself. Whatever you do, do not attempt to give him clothes or any type of fabric as that would be considered an insult."

The man then turned to the brownie to finish the introductions, "Kashiwagi, this child is Evans Harold; he will be your charge for the next handful of days. He is mute, so he will not be able to answer your questions but he can write down his answers on paper and then you can bring them to me and I will read them for you. From what little I have seen, he is a very neat and organized child so you need not fear stumbling across stray clothes if you decide you wish to clean while you are here delivering his meals."

The brownie nodded as he studied Harry just as intently as Harry had studied him earlier. The creature then bowed to Harry, snapped its fingers (which caused a tray of meticulously arranged food to appear on the table), and then disappeared with a loud pop.

"Brownies are a shy lot and the only time you will ever see him is if he needs to ask you a question," Master Watanabe explained with a fond smile. "My wife and I provide for the needs of the small colony of wild brownies that live on the property but they are happiest when they have someone that needs their skills. There are some countries that bind the brownies to them with magic but doing so actually does more harm to the little beings and after a time they grow dependant upon that bond in order to survive."

"It is against the law to bind a wild brownie to a family or house here in Japan but we do occasionally get the rare domesticated brownie that is incapable of surviving without the bond. It takes a special permit to keep a bonded brownie though and you can expect yearly inspections to insure that you are treating the brownie properly and that you are making an effort to rehabilitate them if at all possible. I doubt that that is something you will need to be concerned with any time soon though; since you are not yet old enough to acquire a permit and I did not sense an established bond linked to your magic."

Harry nodded in response to the explanation and the warning as he sat down to eat lunch after he'd taken his next dose of potions. By the time he'd eaten his fifth bite, Harry decided that he was going to have to collect a large supply of gifts to give the little being; the food was that good (so was the food he'd eaten the previous evening for supper and this morning for breakfast but he'd not been awake enough to appreciate it at either time).

"When you are finished with your meal, meet me out back so that I can start you on the path towards healing," Master Watanabe instructed before he folded his arms into his sleeves and took his leave.

Harry paused with his chopsticks halfway to his mouth as a wave of trepidation went through him upon hearing that rather ominous statement and his appetite took a sharp plunge into the negative. Two seconds later, his master's voice drifted back to him from just outside the door.

"Oh, and be sure not to leave a single morsel of food uneaten; you will hurt Kashiwagi's feelings if you do."

Harry found it far harder to enjoy the food after that and part of him wondered if the wizard had done that on purpose.

It wouldn't surprise him to learn that he had; most adult wizards he'd met seemed to be fond of mind games.

* * *

**Translations:** Japanese to English

Kashiwagi – oak tree

**Notes:**

Amaterasu – is the Japanese goddess of the sun and the flames is a veiled reference to the Naruto manga/anime universe where Amaterasu is one of the jutsu used by those Uchiha who awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan (it produces black flames that can not be extinguished except by the one who created them, though Jiraiya did seal away Itachi's flames one time).

* * *

**AN:** _And now you finally know why it appeared as if Harry had been squibbed; if not the reasons why Dumbledore was so quick to get rid of him. We also don't yet know why Dumbledore didn't seek proper healing for Harry or why Madam Pomfrey didn't think to check for interference from the Loadstone fragments. All we know is that the trap Dumbledore set up for Voldemort was far more complicated than it originally looked and that it was a bit more sinister in nature than it was in canon (he'd baited the trap with a ticking time bomb, after all). The full truth behind all of that will be revealed in later chapters as I'd mentioned in at least one previous AN. ~ Jenn_

**10-02-15:** _Minor edits made to chapter to fix spelling/grammar mistakes and removed unnecessary author's notes._


	11. Seeking Inner Peace

**Disclaimer:** _I used to write out a very specific disclaimer explaining exactly what it is I don't own but I find myself not really interested in doing so as it is very tedious. Suffice it to say I own nothing that was created by anyone else and I am making no money whatsoever from the writing of this FanFiction._

**Warnings:** _Mild to moderate violence, character death, foul language, alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon from both worlds goodbye), angst, drama, and who knows what else. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

Chapter Eleven: Seeking Inner Peace

_Wednesday, May 19, 1993, Afternoon  
Watanabe Ranch and Reserve, Undisclosed Location  
Japan_

Harry closed the door to his assigned cabin and trotted around to the back where he found Master Watanabe waiting for him beneath the cherry tree that sat closest to the cabin. The moment Harry reached his side, the elderly wizard gestured for him to follow before leading him deeper into the cherry grove until all Harry could see in any direction were more trees. After another ten minutes of walking, the two of them stepped into a small clearing with a towering fountain shaped like a blooming lotus flower sitting in the center.

The water that flowed from the fountain fell into a ring shaped pond at its base, instead of into an enclosed pool like most other fountains he'd seen. Seated beneath the petals of the flower where the curtain of water pouring from the petals could not touch them, were twenty-one three foot tall clay toads with wide open mouths. Each toad had been painted with a unique mix and pattern of colors that made them fairly easy to tell apart. The different kanji that had been painted upon each of their large, round bellies also helped too.

Pulling his gaze from the curious pond and fountain with its frozen denizens, Harry took a moment to inspect the rest of the clearing. Instead of grass, the floor of the clearing had been covered with fine coral sand that was a mix of pink, red, and white. Scattered about the sand in a set of three staggered rings were dozens of clay stepping stones that were shaped like stylized lotus blooms and lily pads and painted white and green respectfully. Around the edge of the clearing, small patches of bamboo grew between some of the cherry trees, effectively closing off all but five paths out of the area; one for each cardinal direction plus one leading back the way they had come.

At the bases of the natural fences that enclosed the area, there were clay pots that were shaped like lotus flower buds and painted an assortment of colors with thick lily pad bases to keep them from falling over. Some of the pots were even strung from the branches of the cherry trees. He easily recognized quite a few of the plants growing in the pots as those plants used in healing potions or those that were just associated with healing or health such as lavender, dittany, and feverfew.

It was, to put it simply, a peaceful clearing that blended natural and man-made beauty in perfect harmony.

"This clearing is known as the Well of Healing and it is here that you will come to terms with your inner demons, my little troubled mage," Master Watanabe declared once Harry had finished examining the clearing. "Each toad represents a different negative emotion and collectively they are the doorway through which you must pass through to deal with the wealth of negativity that you are drowning in. Once you pass through a doorway, you will not be allowed to leave until you have purged yourself of the emotion that is represented by the toad through which you entered."

"What you see inside will vary greatly depending on which inner demons are associated with any given emotion and how you deal with those demons is up to you. Some emotions will drive you to violence and others may make you curl up in a ball and wish for death. Regardless of what they make you feel, you need to feel the emotions and then you need to let them go. Only then can you cleanse your soul. Be warned, you will not be able to access your magic while you are inside so do not attempt to try; the rooms will provide you with what you need."

"When you have conquered your first demon and purged your soul of that emotion's darkness, you will return here and I will take you to the hot spring where you will ease the pain of your first trial while I start teaching you to speak with your hands so you will never again be without a voice," Master Watanabe finished before he shooed Harry towards the stepping stones. "Now go, circle the clearing until the first door opens for you."

Harry shot his master a frown before he warily turned his attention to the suddenly ominous frogs that sat so innocently beneath the clear waters that rained down from the very center of the flower. He swallowed thickly as he imagined the curtain of water as a shield holding back the darkness that dwelled within the bellies of the clay toads. Shaking his head, Harry grabbed hold of his Gryffindor courage and carefully navigated his way towards the innermost ring of stepping stones before circling around the fountain.

He would make a total of three circuits before he found himself drawn to a bright yellow toad with thin orange swirls covering its body and the kanji for fear inscribed on its belly. Stepping closer to the now almost glowing toad, Harry bent down to peer inside its open mouth and thought he caught a glimpse of something shiny in the dark cavity. Curious, he reached into the toad's mouth and closed his fingers around something hard and cold. The moment he touched the thing, something grabbed hold of him and pulled him down into the mouth and belly of the clay toad.

He let out startled, silent cry as the toad's mouth snapped shut behind his feet.

Harry's feet hit the ground at the same time as whatever it was that had grabbed him let go. He spun around in place a couple of times as he felt nervousness bubble up into the back of his throat. After his fourth rotation, the room slowly began to grow lighter until there was just enough light for him to just barely make out his surroundings. The moment he could see, Harry desperately wished he couldn't as a silent scream was torn from his throat when his eyes fell on Quirrell's familiar visage with Voldemort's face sticking out of the back of his head.

First, he tried to run away from the possessed wizard but that only seemed to make him multiply until he was surrounded by a hundred copies of his former Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor playing host his master's shade. He then dropped to his knees and silently begged the demon (and the memory of Quirrell and Voldemort was a demon in Harry's mind) to leave him alone. Tears would run unheeded down his face for a long time as the cloned demons continued to circle him without actually touching him.

After some time, Harry got fed up and angry over his own fear. He lunged at the closest Quirrell and punched him only to gape in horror as the copy screamed and crumbled to ash; much like the real Quirrell had a year earlier. That set off a chain reaction as all of the Voldemort possessed Quirrells multiplied again as they morphed into the various people he knew before they converged on Harry. This time, the crowd of people sought to touch him instead of just hover around him and the moment they did so, they would scream and crumble to ash; just like Quirrell.

This… this was a hundred times worse than being confronted by a Dark Lord and his minion.

If he had still had a voice, Harry's screams would have echoed right along with the screams of the dying avatars that wore the faces of people he had spent time with at some point. Classmates, teammates, teachers, friends, peers, perfect strangers… each of them died the moment they touched him. And nothing Harry did would stop them from touching him.

He ran.

He begged.

He huddled in a corner.

He cried.

He screamed.

And still they died.

Eventually, Harry ended up flat on his back as his terror and self disgust gave way to numbness. Once that happened, Harry was left surrounded by piles of ash. The room was not finished with him though as something heavy hit the floor and began heading towards him. Harry tipped his head back and found himself face to face with the basilisk but instead of feeling fear, Harry just felt relief. Death would be welcome after the ordeal he'd just endured.

The giant snake-like creature paused as soon as that thought passed through his mind and then the creature bowed low and vanished in a swirl of mist as the room brightened. For a brief moment, Harry thought that maybe, just maybe, that was the end of things. It wasn't. The room was just getting started.

'_Hurry up, boy; Diddykins needs his breakfast,_' Aunt Petunia screeched as she suddenly appeared beside Harry while the room morphed into the familiar kitchen of Number Four Privet Drive.

Her appearance made him cringe for a brief moment before he simply turned his back on her; Aunt Petunia no longer scared him. She'd not inspired fear in him since he'd been nine but the true moment when her words had lost their sharp since had been when Dumbledore had dropped him off at Privet Drive after snapping his wand.

'_What are you waiting for, boy? Go make Dudley his breakfast you ungrateful wretch,_' Uncle Vernon ordered as he strode around to push his purplish-red face into Harry's; the man obviously spitting mad and half drunk.

Harry just stared at him as memories of Vernon's unpleasantness filtered through his mind and began breaking up the numbness that had settled over him earlier. He didn't inspire fear any more though. Now his overweight uncle just filled him with anger that soon bled to indifference. Vernon's threats and harsh-but-not-abusive punishments were a thing of the past. Vernon narrowed his eyes before he stamped his foot and split apart into five different smaller bodies that took on the likeness of Dudley and his gang.

'_What do you say we play a spot of Harry Hunting, boys? It's been far too long since we had a little fun with the freak, eh?_' Dudley crowed with a cruel smirk as all five boys closed ranks around Harry. Harry only laughed in silence. Dudley and his supposed friends had nothing on the gang of upperclassmen that had attacked him earlier in the year and even those six teens hadn't frightened Harry.

The lack of fear made the group pause before they regrouped and morphed into the Echizens. This time, Harry's breath hitched as all four members of the family stared at him with cold eyes. These avatars scared him. And not in the visceral I'm-about-to-die kind of fear. They frightened him because he feared that they would one day come to see him like the Dursleys used to see him; as an unwanted burden and a worthless freak.

'_All you have done is cause trouble since the day you arrived,_' Mrs. Echizen stated in a tone that was a cross between her voice as Harry remembered it and Aunt Petunia's voice. '_I should have sent you home the moment I realized just how much of a burden you are._'

The words cut deeply and Harry cried once more as the other three members of the Echizen family expressed similar sentiments. He was soon reduced to mouthing an endless litany of silent apologies while he prostrated himself on the floor at the feet of the family that had taken him in as a favor to Aunt Petunia. The renewed fear, dim and weak though it was when compared to his earlier terror, brought back the Dursleys and the two families soon began trading stories of just how much of a burden Harry had been to them; as if trying to determine which family had suffered more for Harry's mere presence.

Other individuals soon began joining them. Hagrid, Hermione, Ron, the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, his professors from Hogwarts, his new teachers from Seigaku, his peers from both schools, the rest of the Tennis Club… Any one who could have been a friend or mentor was there and they were all adding their own complaints to those that the Echizens and the Dursleys were voicing.

His old fear of never being good enough… of never being loved swallowed him whole as the harsh words of both cloned families pressed down on him. His pleading apologies would never reach their ears for they died before they could even leave his mouth and one by one, each of the individuals turned their backs on him and faded into nothing until Harry was left alone.

And he was truly alone.

He had no family left that wanted anything to do with him.

He had no friends because he believed Ron and Hermione had abandoned him and he'd kept those who could have been his friends at a distance out of fear.

He didn't even have the cold comfort of his pet owl for she had been taken from him.

All he had was himself.

And that frightened him.

The idea of being alone… of never seeing a friendly face… of never having a family… it all scared him.

He didn't want to be alone. He didn't want to die alone and unloved and unmourned.

Harry cried harder and wished he hadn't been so cold to those around him. He wished he could have been brave enough and strong enough to reach out to those that had attempted to befriend him when he first arrived. He wished he could have found the courage to write to Ron and Hermione to ask them why they stopped speaking to him. And he wished he had been a little nicer and a little more appreciative of the family that had taken him in when Aunt Petunia had decided she no longer wanted to put up with his presence.

The numbness surrounded the one-eyed wizard once more as Harry's tears finally ran dry. It was accompanied by a bone-deep weariness that had been brought on by the emotional storm he'd experienced as he'd been forced to face his fears one right after the next. He was drifting on the edge of unconsciousness when the room faded back to darkness around him before he felt himself picked up and spat out of the same toad that had swallowed him earlier.

The cold water flowing from the fountain above him helped him to wake up just enough for him to sit up on the stepping stone positioned directly in front of the toad where he had been dumped. He blinked the water out of his eyes before he glanced around to take in the darkened clearing that was lit only by the soft light of the moon. As he sat there beneath the trees and stars shivering in his wet clothes, Harry couldn't help but wonder just how much of what he'd just been through had really happened.

A pair of strong arms lifting him from the ground startled Harry and he tensed over the unexpected touch but made no attempts to escape; he was just too exhausted. He relaxed a little when Master Watanabe's now familiar voice washed over him as the man began carrying out of the clearing, "You did well, child; fear is one of the hardest of emotions to face and most people will leave their fears for last. That you chose to deal with that particular demon first speaks loudly of the courage and sheer stubbornness that resides within your soul."

Harry let out a silent snort over the stubborn comment; he been called stubborn far too many times to count. The rest of the journey to the hot springs passed in silence as Harry drifted on the edge of sleep. He would rouse himself again the moment he felt his rear make contact with a wooden bench when Master Watanabe set him down.

"Go ahead and remove your wet clothes and give yourself a good scrub before you go sit in the spring; make certain you wash your hair as well. I will join you in a few minutes," Master Watanabe instructed as he set a bottle of shampoo, a bar of homemade soap, and a clean washcloth next to Harry before he left the bathing room.

Harry sluggishly complied; stripping off his clothes and stuffing them into one of the baskets provided to hold personal effects. He then collected the items Master Watanabe left him and pushed himself to his feet before he staggered over to the tiled section of the room where a row of faucets, buckets, and short stools stood waiting for prospective bathers. Harry took a moment to fill up two buckets with hot water and promptly dumped the first one over his head before he dipped the wash cloth in the other bucked and lathered it with soap.

He then proceeded to wash himself as he sat on one of the stools; his mind slowly clearing as he breathed in the fragrant scent of the soap. He spent a couple of minutes trying to identify the vaguely familiar aroma beneath the heavy smell of sandalwood but eventually gave up as set the washcloth aside and turned his attention to his hair next. Once he'd given his hair a thorough scrubbing, Harry dumped the second bucket of water over his head. He then scraped off as much the of the soapy water still clinging to him as he could before he filled up the bucket once more and poured that over himself again.

Now clean and soap free, Harry made his way to the curtain that separated the hot spring from the bathing area and ducked inside of the steam filled room. After inspecting the room, which had been formed to look like a natural rock pool complete with several large boulders for people to perch on, Harry carefully eased himself into the almost but not quite too hot water. A silent sigh of pure pleasure slipped through Harry's lips as he sank to his neck; the heat from the water washing away the last of the tension he felt from facing his fears.

He then made his way over to a comfortable looking pair of boulders and wedged himself into the small pocket formed between them before using the lower of the two rocks as a pillow as he let the heat lull him to sleep. He never would get the promised sign language lesson from Master Watanabe. He would also miss supper that night since his ordeal had lasted for over seven hours and there had been no waking him once he'd drifted off to sleep in the pool of hot water.

Master Watanabe would wake Harry up at the crack of dawn the next morning with a stream of ice water from his wand when his kinder attempts turned out to be fruitless. Harry would have cursed the man if he could. His master was completely unmoved by his soggy glare as he ordered, "Get up, get dried off, and get dressed; we've got a lot to get done today."

Huffing and grumbling silently to himself, Harry complied with the order before he made his way to the kitchen where he was presented with his missed supper from the previous night and a round of potions. Even as rewarmed leftovers, the food was delicious and Harry was reminded of his earlier promise to get the brownie a thank you gift. He thought about what he had on hand that Kashiwagi might accept but drew a blank since there was very little he'd actually brought with him.

He then recalled the canister of tennis balls that he had been carrying around in his book bag for weeks and decided that a tennis ball should be an acceptable gift. It was something that he'd bought and it also represented the promise he'd made to put an effort into learning tennis when Tezuka had confronted him the day he joined the club; making it rather important in his mind. Nodding to himself, Harry finished his breakfast before he rushed back to his room to grab one of the never-been-used balls from the unopened canister.

He would place the ball in the little offering plate in the center of the table so that the brownie would know it was for him. There was a small smile on Harry's face when he grabbed his shoes and ducked out the door fifteen seconds later as he turned his mind towards the next gift he could offer. When he recalled what Master Watanabe had said about giving flowers as gifts, Harry decided that he'd look for a small flowering plant he could dig up instead of just cutting a flower from a plant; that way the gift would last longer.

Decision made, Harry turned his attention to his waiting master and swallowed thickly when the wizard immediately led Harry towards the Well of Healing a second time. He was not looking forward to facing another ordeal so soon after the first one. Not a single word passed between the pair when they arrived in the clearing and Harry reluctantly approached the fountain when Master Watanabe gestured for him to begin. As he had the first time, he circled the fountain three times (his eyes lingering on the now closed mouth of the toad that represented fear each time he passed it) before he felt himself drawn to a bright crimson toad with the kanji for anger on its belly.

Instead of jumping right in this time, Harry continued moving so he could peek into the mouths of a few other toads; noticing that they all appeared to have something hidden inside their mouths that only appeared when he leaned closer to them. Once he realized that, he studied the kanji on their stomachs and chose to approach the toad that represent jealousy instead of anger because he wasn't yet ready to deal with his anger. The moment he reached into the toad's mouth and caught hold of the thing that he now realized must be the mechanism that activated the door; he was once again sucked inside of the toad's mouth.

This time, he would spend less than an hour in that room. First he'd had to deal with the jealously he'd felt growing up watching his aunt and uncle showering love and presents on Dudley while he was virtually ignored. He then dealt with the jealousy he'd felt when he first understood the concept of friendship and he had to watch other people make friends while Dudley chased off any one that was nice to Harry. He also had to deal with the jealousy he'd felt for Ron because he had a large family that cared about him but he didn't seem to appreciated them.

He would be spit out of the fluorescent green toad shortly after he faced the jealousy he felt for Ryoma. His fellow freshmen had everything he'd always wanted; a loving family, confidence, and the freedom to follow his dream. Harry knew that Ryoma had his fair share of problems as well though; and it was that knowledge that had allowed Harry to get over the jealousy he felt.

Instead of getting carried out of the clearing this time, Master Watanabe told him to choose another toad and continue. Sensing that it was going to be a long day, Harry made yet another circuit around the fountain before he chose to deal with greed followed by shame and arrogance. It was only a little after nine when he'd finished dealing with those and Harry had a little difficulty choosing what emotion he would face next since the one he kept ending up in front of was the one he still wasn't ready to face just yet.

After a few minutes of silent debate, he decided that his next attempt would be to face his hate (this toad painted black and covered over with dark gray and red cracks) but the moment he stuck his hand in the toad's mouth, the toad's mouth had snapped shut around his arm and spat his hand back out instead of sucking him inside. Bewildered by the unexpected reaction, Harry spun around to get answers from his watching master.

"That was rather unexpected," Master Watanabe drawled as he examined Harry closely. "It is rare for a child who has suffered as much as you have in this past year alone to completely lack even a smidgen of hate. Continue on to another door; the locked door merely means you have no need to face any hate because there is no room for hate in your soul."

Feeling slightly better about what had happened but still a little off-balance because of how unexpected it had been to learn that he didn't truly hate any one, Harry reached inside the first toad's mouth he felt drawn to after making yet another circuit around the fountain. He had a brief glimpse of crimson and grimaced as he was sucked down into the stomach of the toad representing anger that he had been avoiding all morning.

Harry was brimming with anger.

And there were a lot of people that he was angry with but mostly he was just angry at himself.

It would take him almost as much time to deal with his anger as it had to deal with his fears but counting the mere handful of minutes difference between the two would have been as pointless as splitting hairs.

When the ordeal was over and Harry had been thrown out of the crimson toad, he felt wrung out. Master Watanabe would collect him from the ground and once again carry him to the hot springs. This time, Harry didn't allow himself to be lulled to sleep; his mind far too troubled with what had happened in the room where he had faced his anger. He did not like the way he'd lashed out. He was not a violent person though he could be driven to defend himself if pushed hard enough; his confrontation with the bullies the previous month and in the past was proof enough of that.

That didn't mean he enjoyed causing people pain though.

Nor had he ever thrown the first punch in any confrontation.

Yet his anger had driven him to attack those with whom he was angry with the moment their likenesses had manifested in the toad-belly room.

"Do not dwell on what you experienced in the rooms as you faced your demons; it was not real," Master Watanabe instructed as he joined Harry in the hot springs several minutes later. "The restrictions and constraints you bind yourself with in the waking world are stripped from you the moment you pass through the door. The room's entire purpose is to encourage you to release the emotions that are triggered by the door through which you enter so that those emotions will no longer control you in the real world."

Harry nodded to show he'd heard him but he still didn't fully understand. As mature as he was, Harry was still just a twelve year old boy struggling to deal with everything that had been thrown at him since the first letter from Hogwarts had shown up at Privet Drive addressed to his cupboard. Master Watanabe just grinned knowingly at him and Harry wrinkled his nose before he sank lower in the water.

"Enough sulking for now; it is time that we start the lessons you skipped last night when you fell asleep before I could join you. We will start with the western alphabet due to the wide spread use of American and British Sign Language throughout the world. You form the letter 'a' by making a fist with your thumb pointing skywards while your palm faces the person you are 'speaking' to. The letter 'b' is formed by extending your fingers…"

Harry paid close attention to the lesson and mimicked the older man when Master Watanabe demonstrated each sign as he gave their verbal description. Once he had covered the entire alphabet, he quizzed Harry on the twenty-six signs forwards and backwards and corrected his mistakes the moment he spotted them. He would be quizzed again after they got out of the spring and dried off and again on the way back to the apprentice cabin where Harry was staying.

Halfway back to the cabin (just after he'd finished the most recent test), Harry would spot a lone, scraggly bluebell growing in the middle of the path and he quickly hunted up a stick that he used to carefully prize the little plant out of the ground; taking care not to break too many roots or knock loose all of the dirt. Master Watanabe would watch the process without saying a word, a bemused expression on his faces as he watched Harry carefully wrap the roots and dirt in several leaves once it was out of the ground (to protect the roots and keep the dirt from spilling).

As soon as they walked through the door of the cabin, Harry would transfer the bluebell he had rescued to the offering plate before disappearing into the bathroom to wash his hands. It was at that moment he realized he'd missed yet another meal and he just knew that the food Kashiwagi had made would have gone uneaten as a result and it made Harry feel somewhat guilty for missing the meal. After giving the matter some thought, Harry decided to snip a pair of buttons from the school uniform in his book bag (one for each meal missed) and write out a small apology on a slip of paper.

Those three items would then join the bluebell on the offering plate before Harry collected his cold lunch to eat for supper so the food did not go to waste. Master Watanabe had again watched Harry; his ancient eyes noting everything Harry did in an effort to determine whether Harry's behavior was healthy or unhealthy. As Harry reached for the first bottle of his prescription potions, Master Watanabe addressed Harry one last time for the evening.

"After you finish your meal, be sure to spend at least half an hour stretching before you soak in the tub for an hour; what you do after that is up to you but I expect you to be up at dawn tomorrow morning or I will douse you with water again to wake you up."

Harry grimaced over the reminder of his less-than-pleasant wake up call that morning before he nodded in response to the instructions he'd been given. Master Watanabe left at that point and Harry drank his potions before starting on his meal. He then practiced signing the letters of the alphabet with his left hand while his right hand was occupied with his chopsticks. After all, being able to write and 'speak' at the same time was very beneficial. Two hours and a bath later, Harry curled up on the futon and slipped of into the arms of Morpheus; his dreams rather unpleasant but not severe enough to be cataloged as nightmares.

It wouldn't be until he crawled out of bed the next morning that Harry realized Thursday already come and gone and he was still staying with Master Watanabe. He wasn't certain how to feel about missing yet another day of school. At the same time, he didn't really feel as though he'd accomplished anything as of yet. Though, he would not hesitate to admit that Master Watanabe's method of dealing with things was far more effective than Mr. Natsume's had been.

It brought far fewer nightmares as well.

Still, he felt rather guilty about missing so many practices. He also wondered if anyone really missed him or if they had even noticed that he was gone.

That line of thinking made him more than a little depressed.

Harry soon pushed his uncertainties down into the back of his mind as he set about getting ready for the day. Friday would then follow a similar pattern as Thursday as he spent the most of the day facing the remaining emotions though he for once didn't skip any meals as those emotions remaining were no where near as difficult as facing his fear and anger had been. He did have a little trouble facing his depression, grief, and naivety but each of those took no more than two hours to purge from his system. He also would not need to face his own lust (he was a bit young for that yet) nor had he needed to deal with any self-destructive tendencies (he wasn't a masochist and he was not suicidal).

Saturday would then see Harry learning the handful of exercises that he would be adding to his training menu that Inui had created for him. He was also told not to use any training weights until he was finished with his potion treatments since they could interfere with the physical growth that the potions were augmenting or the repairs they were making to his internal structure.

After he could perform each new exercise to Master Watanabe's satisfaction, Harry was taken to the middle of an empty field where he would spend the rest of Saturday learning how to meditate properly. The first time he attempted to use each inhale to bury his emotions (like he had taught himself to do), Master Watanabe slapped him upside the head with a harisen. Harry had been startled by the blow, not because it hurt (because it didn't) but because of how loud of a sound it had made when it connected to his head.

Once his master had his attention, he lectured Harry quite sternly for over an hour to impress upon him just how big of a mistake it was to bury his memories like had been doing. After he had finished the lecture, Harry was told to resume his meditation and any time Harry tried to suppress his emotions on the inhale instead of release them on the exhale; Master Watanabe would smack Harry with the fan. It was actually kind of annoying once Harry stopped instinctually flinching at the harmless contact.

Needless to say, he quickly learned not to bury his emotions just to avoid getting smacked.

His last day with Master Watanabe would be spent meditating once more (this time with less smacking) before the old Battle Mage had asked to examine Harry's magical belongings. Master Watanabe had frowned a little over the fact that the only magical items Harry brought with him to Japan were the pieces of his broken wand and the photo album filled with pictures of his parents and their friends. Both items had then been thoroughly inspected and tested for unnecessary spells (such as tracking or monitoring charms) before they were given back to Harry.

Harry had been both happy and sad when the two halves of his wand actually spit out a few weak sparks the moment he touched them; proof that he still had magic and that someone (Dumbledore or Pomfrey) had lied to him.

* * *

**Translations:** Japanese to English

Harisen – a giant paper fan (also called a slapping fan); it is most traditionally used as part of a comedy act, in which the straight man smacks the funny man in response to their jokes or idiocy

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**10-02-15:** _Minor edits made to chapter to fix spelling/grammar mistakes and removed unnecessary author's notes._


	12. The Data Detective

**Disclaimer:** _I used to write out a very specific disclaimer explaining exactly what it is I don't own but I find myself not really interested in doing so as it is very tedious. Suffice it to say I own nothing that was created by anyone else and I am making no money whatsoever from the writing of this FanFiction._

**Warnings:** _Mild to moderate violence, character death, foul language, alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon from both worlds goodbye), angst, drama, and who knows what else. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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Chapter Twelve: The Data Detective

_Sunday 23, 1993, Afternoon  
Inui Household, Tokyo, Japan_

Sadaharu drummed his fingers on his desk as he stared at the open file (detailing the most recent data he'd collected on the effectiveness of his current recipe for what he fondly called Inui Juice) on his monitor without seeing it. His mind could not concentrate on mere numbers when it was far too wrapped up in a certain missing freshman. He found it more than a little annoying that he could not get a straight answer for where Evans had gone or when he'd be back. Or even the exact reason why he was gone in the first place; though he did have a few theories.

The little information he had gathered since the often contrary freshman had vanished was troubling, to say the least.

Giving up all pretense of calculating the next set of adjustments he needed to make to the vegetable juice recipe he'd created, Sadaharu closed out the Inui Juice file and opened the file where he kept all of the information he had on Evans Harold. He then scrolled down to the bottom of the file where he'd added the information he'd collected since the freshman had missed Monday afternoon's practice. As he read through the list of facts, Sadaharu reviewed the memories associated with the facts in order to search for some little clue he might have missed.

_One: Evans had missed Monday afternoon's practice for the first time since he'd joined the Tennis Club.  
Two: Evans had skipped supper and shut out the Echizen family Monday night (info gathered from Echizen R.).  
Three: Evans had skipped breakfast Tuesday morning and left the house early (info gathered from Echizen R.). _

Sadaharu could clearly recall the exact moment when Echizen had realized that Evans had not shown up at four-thirty like he usually did on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons after his counseling sessions. He'd caught a glimpse of the twelve year old Regular's frown as he got distracted from his practice match in order to scan the courts. The often arrogant freshman hadn't started to actually grow worried until another fifteen minutes had passed without any sign of Evans. It was at that point that Echizen had asked for and received permission to go look for the missing freshman since everyone else had started to notice that he was running later than usual as well.

The one-eyed pre-teen hadn't been found on campus within the next ten minutes and Echizen had not even bothered to change out of his tennis clothes before he'd grabbed his things and took off to search for him outside of the school grounds. Momoshiro had stated he was going to help before he grabbed his bike and took the streets. The rest of the Regulars had been making plans to join them right up until the school's guidance counselor stopped by the courts to speak to Ryuzaki-sensei. Sadaharu hadn't been able to listen in on that conversation but it was soon announced that Evans had gone home sick and the search had been called off.

Sadaharu didn't recall Evans appearing physically ill when he had caught glimpses of the mute freshman throughout the day though; so that indicated that something had happened after Echizen had dropped Evans off at the counselor's office out of longstanding habit. He knew Echizen would not have been at all worried if Evans _had_ been feeling sick before he had gone to see the counselor since Evans would have told Echizen and Echizen would therefore not have been worried about Evans skipping practice without any warning. Echizen also would have informed Coach Ryuzaki if he had thought Evans might leave early; which he hadn't.

The fact that Evans had skipped the evening meal and ignored his hosts (something Sadaharu knew from experience the Englishman was far too polite to do normally) indicated that something far more serious than a little cold or a touch of the flu had been going on. Evans's manners (when he wasn't outright ignoring everyone) were impeccable when he felt he was obligated to be on his best behavior. And he treated the Echizens with utmost respect (even after Mr. Echizen had tricked him into joining the Tennis Club with a bet) because they had opened their house to him.

If Evans skipping out of the afternoon practice and evening meal on Monday or ignoring the Echizens during the evening hadn't been enough to indicate there was something wrong with the twelve year old, the fact that he'd skipped breakfast and ducked out of the house without waiting for Echizen would. Sadaharu had once asked Evans to show up at school an hour early so he could work with the freshman but Evans had refused on the grounds that he'd promised Mrs. Echizen he would not wander off alone again after he'd been attacked by that gang of upperclassmen.

And Evans never broke a promise unless there were extenuating circumstances.

Sadaharu had seen enough proof of that back before Evans joined the Tennis Club when the pre-teen had dutifully trailed after Echizen every where he went every day no matter how much he (Evans) might have wished otherwise. The only time the two boys were not within a dozen meters of each other on school days was during Evans's afternoon counseling sessions on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays afternoons. Evans's word meant a great deal to him; as if the twelve year old placed more importance on his honor than on his personal comfort.

Something that was kind of strange in this day and age when youths rebelled against traditions every chance they got.

Humming to himself thoughtfully once he'd finished reviewing those first three facts, Sadaharu skimmed through the next three so he could continue his review of his research.

_Four: Evans arrives at Seigaku's courts before anyone else and starts running laps; enters Tunnel-Zone State).  
Five: Evans ignored all attempts to snap him out of Tunnel-Zone State throughout the course of the morning practice.  
Six: Evans physically collapsed once he had been stopped; body obviously pushed well passed its natural endurance._

The very first time Sadaharu had witnessed Evans entering what he had eventually dubbed the 'Tunnel-Zone State' was when the freshman had been goaded into that silly bet with Mr. Echizen. The moment the rules had been established and Mr. Echizen had picked up that first ball to start, Evans had completely 'Zoned' out the rest of the world. Sadaharu would not realize just how deeply Evans submersed himself in the 'Zone' until after he'd given a demonstration of his abilities to Coach Ryuzaki and the Regulars though.

The freshman had not taken any breaks when the servers had switched out nor had he acknowledged or given any signs that he had even heard any of the Regulars' questions or teasing taunts.

Anyone who plays a sport will easily speak of how they get into 'the Zone' when they play and how most or, in some cases, all sound fades into a blur of background noise for short periods of time. There are even some who can maintain their Zone for the entire duration of a game but they will snap out of it if the game is interrupted for an extended period of time (such as a time out for an injury or if the officials take a long time to argue over the validity of a play) or if they injured themselves seriously enough during the course of the game.

That was not the case with Evans.

Once the ball came into play, Evans's entire world narrowed down to the ball in play and nothing else mattered. He didn't even bother paying attention to the player on the other side of the net or the referee; just the ball. Not even his own health and well being factored into things when he entered the Zone and it had been that knowledge that had prompted Sadaharu to forbid Evans from smacking a ball around in practice until he could learn how to snap out of the Zone on command instead of just when the ball was no longer in play.

Sadaharu had gotten solid confirmation of just how dangerous the Tunnel-Zone State could be when Evans demonstrated the ability to 'Zone Out' while running on Tuesday morning. The twelve year old had nearly done himself some serious damage when he had pushed his body well beyond his natural limits. Sadaharu had no idea what Evans had been so focused on at the time but the look on his face as he ran had been a clear indication that his mind was not in a happy place. He (and many others) had made the mistake of thinking that Evans would snap out of the Zone the moment his body grew too tired and let him be for most of the morning practice but that hadn't happened.

In fact, Sadaharu was ninety-nine percent certain that Evans would have continued running until he either tore a muscle, tendon, or ligament and he fell or until his heart gave out if he had not planted himself in the pre-teen's path at the last possible moment.

Pausing in mid-thought, Sadaharu quickly typed out a note to bump up his plans to train Evans to consciously control his ability to Zone In and Out in order to prevent another repeat of the Running Incident. After giving the matter a little more thought, he amended that plan to instead train Evans to snap out of the Zone on command in response to an external trigger so that other people could pull him out of his Tunnel-Zone State when necessary. He'd just have to find a difficult to replicate trigger so that an opponent couldn't duplicate the trigger and mess with Evans's Zone State during a game.

Once he'd finished updating his notes, Sadaharu returned to his earlier brainstorming as he refocused on what he recalled of Evans's physical condition upon forcing him out of his Zone. Specifically, Sadaharu was reflecting on those details that weren't part of his mad-man dash around the courts; such as the fact that beneath the flush of exertion, Evans's skin had been paler than normal and slightly translucent (a possible indication of ill-health) and he'd had a dark circle under his visible left eye (a sign of recent poor sleep).

Both clues together supported a number of potential theories; such as the onset of a physical illness, a recent bout of insomnia, or a night of sleep plagued with nightmares to name the most likely ones. And Sadaharu was eighty-seven percent certain that he could rule out the physical illness since the symptoms probably would have begun to manifest over a much longer period of time and would have included such things as coughing, sniffling, sneezing, or hot and cold flashes indicative of a fever. However, Evans had given no indication that he was even feeling unwell until he skipped Monday afternoon's tennis practice.

Sadaharu frowned as he realized there was something about the way that they had learned that Evans was sick that bothered him. It wasn't until he recalled that it had been the counselor that had informed Couch Ryuzaki about Evans's reason for not showing up for practice that he thought he might have an inkling of what had happened. Adults were funny sometimes; they contemporized and used words with double meanings to avoid coming right out and saying something. A school's teachers and administration staff were especially prone to such antics since they were obligated to withhold information regarding their pupils unless given permission to share said info.

And he already knew that the school was not allowed to share _any_ information on Evans to _anyone_ outside of his official guardian, the police, or a medical professional authorized to treat him. He'd first suspected that was the case shortly after the attack on Evans by Kawano's gang since Evans's name was the only name that had not been released to the media or the public in the wake of the attack. He had not confirmed that theory until after Evans had joined the Tennis Club.

As soon as she had had Evans's application in hand, Sadaharu had heard Coach Ryuzaki sternly warn the scouts, spies, and reporters that came to watch the practices that they would be persecuted to the full extent of the law if Evans's face or name was used _anywhere_ for _any_ reason. In fact, the day Evans joined the club was the day that recording devices and cameras had been banned from the courts (much to the Regulars' relief and amusement) unless an official request was presented days ahead of time and the requester was given special dispensation by both the principle and Coach Ryuzaki.

Even then, they were required to follow a very specific set of rules (including not taking photos of any club member not on the approved list).

Sadaharu even recalled that Fuji Syusuke* (a fellow senior and Regular in the club) had also once mentioned in passing that Evans's name (and face) was on the list of students that the Yearbook Committee (of which Fuji was a member) had been given that could not appear in any form in the yearbook.

The total media block surrounding Evans hinted that the pre-teen was hiding from someone or something and given what Echizen had told them about Evans's past over a month ago, it was easy to reach the conclusion that he was in a witness protection program of sorts. That was an indication that the surviving members of the 'satanic cult' that had kidnapped and nearly killed the freshman could potentially still be looking to finish what they started or to get revenge for the two members that had been killed during the failed ritual.

Sadaharu made a note to get more information about the 'cult' involved from Evans (once he could be fairly certain the younger boy wouldn't get angry and shun him for asking) so he could confirm his theories and make contingency plans in case they [any members of said cult] showed up looking for the freshman. The fifteen year old frowned at that and realized that there was a seventy-eight percent likelihood that they might have already found Evans since that would explain Evans's behavior and his subsequent disappearance.

Though, the fact that he would be returning poked all kinds of holes in that theory and dropped the chances of that being the reason for him being pulled out down to twenty-eight percent.

Shelving that line of thinking until he had more information, Sadaharu returned his attention to the list of facts…

_Seven: Sensei starts to chastise Evans for his behavior but stops suddenly for unknown reasons._

And that was as far as he got as he focused on that particular moment in his mind. Sadaharu had brought Evans to a sudden stop by body checking Evans at the last second (using the knowledge that Evans couldn't sense him in the hopes he couldn't react in time to go around him). Coach Ryuzaki had then approached them, pulled Evans to his feet (with Sadaharu needing to support him when it became obvious he couldn't stand on his own), and started to take Evans to task before she suddenly stopped for no apparent reason…

No, that's not what had happened.

Coach Ryuzaki had started her rant as she pulled Evans to his feet and the moment Evans looked up to meet her gaze after Sadaharu had stabilized him, Coach Ryuzaki had cut herself off before she could truly lay into him about his stupid stunt.

That was an indication that Ryuzaki-sensei had seen something on Evans's face or in his gaze that forced her to back down despite her obvious anger. Was whatever it was she saw in that moment in any way related to the reason he had 'gone home sick' on Monday afternoon? There was a sixty-eight percent chance that the answer was yes based on what he little knew. Sadaharu scowled and drummed his fingers on his desk in annoyance. Evans had not once looked directly at him after he'd been tackled out of his Tunnel-Zone State so he couldn't even extrapolate on what it was Coach Ryuzaki might have seen in that moment.

The only thing he could say for certain was that Evans had been knocked off balance either mentally or emotionally; something that had been fairly obvious from the moment he arrived for morning practice to find Evans already running laps around the courts.

That observation neatly tied into the next fact…

_Eight: Evans's mental state in upheaval for unknown reasons; possibly related to Mon.'s missed afternoon practice._

Sadaharu could not say for certain what had triggered Evans's mental or emotional stress.

Based on the involvement of the school's guidance counselor, it was probably something linked to either the attack earlier that term or the incident that had led to Evans losing an eye and his voice. It all depended on why Evans was seeing the counselor in the first place. The freshman had not started seeing Mr. Natsume until after the attack but the number of weekly sessions seemed too high for that to be the sole reason behind the appointments; meaning that they were originally meant to help him deal with the aftermath of his kidnapping.

That didn't explain why the sessions had not started up during the first week of the term; unless they had postponed them to give him a chance to settle in (so to speak). The fact that he was still seeing a psychologist three times a week so long after the original incident had occurred seemed to be rather overkill though; since most of his issues regarding the incident should have been dealt with shortly after he had been released from the hospital. That increased the likelihood that the main focus of the sessions had been on Kawano's attack.

It did not occur to Sadaharu that there might not have been a psychologist assigned to help Evans deal with the trauma of his near death experience until he had transferred to Seigaku.

In any case, the next two facts confirmed the validity of fact eight (though nine was somewhat inconsequential outside of the fact that that had been the last time that Sadaharu had seen Evans).

_Nine: Evans delivered to sensei and buchou for disciplinary meeting.  
Ten: Evans appeared suitably chastised only to have panic attack during meeting (info gathered from Tezuka K.)._

Sadaharu briefly lamented over the fact that he had not been present during that meeting since he would have liked to know what exactly it had been that had triggered Evans's panic attack (so he could figure out the best way to prevent it from happening again). According to Tezuka-buchou, Evans had appeared contrite as he first apologized for his behavior and then promised that it would not happen again before his composure had been shaken by Coach Ryuzaki asking him what it was that had sent him into a seemingly self-destructive spiral in the first place.

That prying question, well meaning though it was, had triggered what followed. Based upon Tezuka's brief explanation of what had occurred during the meeting, Evans had curled in on himself in distress over whatever it was that had been bothering him and Coach Ryuzaki's attempt to calm him had backfired; sending Evans into a full blown panic attack. Ryuzaki-sensei had then immediately sent Tezuka to fetch Mr. Natsume to help deal with the fallout but the counselor's arrival only seemed to make matters worse.

_Does that mean that Evans associated the guidance counselor with whatever was bothering him?_ Sadaharu asked himself as he leaned back in his chair and adjusted his glasses. _That would certainly fit the rest of the data since there is an eighty-seven percent chance that the entire sequence of events was set into motion by something that had occurred during Evans's Monday afternoon session with the counselor._

It was a shame that Tezuka-buchou hadn't been able to provide him any additional information as he had been sent to class shortly after Evans had shoved the counselor away from him in the same instant that power was knocked out in several of the school's buildings. And Ryuzaki-sensei was far less forthcoming about what had happened after that point. Did the school contact the Echizens to come collect Evans? Was Evans actually pulled out of school or had he been suspended for pushing the counselor while in the midst of a panic attack?

The official stance of the school was detailed in the following fact…

_Eleven: Evans had been removed from school for health reasons (exact reason unknown; suspect mental breakdown). _

…confirmed by the fact that…

_Twelve: Evans had not returned to school for remainder of week (info gathered from various sources; mostly the other freshmen that were in the Tennis Club)._

…but there was no information as to who it had been that had pulled him out of the school. Mr. Natsume was the most likely suspect since he had been the one 'attacked' by a panicking Evans but there was no actual proof. At least, not outside of the school's records but Sadaharu didn't have any legitimate reason to view said records nor a foolproof method of sneaking into the Admin Building to do so on the sly.

Despite that, if it had only been the fact that Evans had been pulled from school, it would not have been so bad. That was not the case though. After the first two days the freshman had been absent, Sadaharu had asked Echizen how Evans was feeling only to learn that Echizen had no idea because Evans had been removed from his home as well. The information gathered from that discussion was more than a little unsettling in Sadaharu's mind as he eyed the next three facts sprawled across his monitor in black and white.

_Thirteen: Evans had also been removed from Echizen household (info gathered from Echizen R.).  
Fourteen: Echizen had no knowledge of who took Evans, why he was taken, or where he was taken.  
Fifteen: Echizen's parents know something but they won't share (info gathered from Echizen R.)._

The only remotely reassuring fact was that the removal from their home was only supposed to be temporary; much like his removal from the school. That information had been confirmed by both Mr. Echizen and Coach Ryuzaki. But that was also the very last bit of information that Sadaharu had collected.

_Sixteen: Evans is supposed to return the Echizens no later than Sunday night and School by Monday morning (info gathered from Echizen N. and sensei). _

Sadaharu glanced at the calendar handing on the wall behind his desk. Today was Sunday, April twenty-third; the day of reckoning. Evans would either be returned to the Echizens within the next eight hours and show up at practice tomorrow morning or he wouldn't. He held out hope that the freshman would return to them but he knew there was a chance that they would never see the moody little freshman again.

A frown etched itself onto Sadaharu's face when he realized he might have overlooked a crucial bit of data. Despite the media block on Evans and the knowledge he had on the pre-teen's past, there was no real indication that the twelve year old was actually part of a witness protection plan. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more unlikely it was that Evans was part of such a program since it would be illogical for them to send Evans halfway around the world just to hide him.

Such a large move from an English speaking nation to a non-English speaking nation seemed a little extreme. How would the authorities contact Evans for questioning without leading someone right to him? How would they go about getting him back to the country in time to stand as a witness for any trials held? For that matter, who was fitting the bill for the expenses involved? What type of government agency would spend that kind of money just to protect a single child?

Evans obviously had access to some serious funds or he would not have been able to afford all of the equipment he'd purchased a few weeks earlier. But where did that money come from? Sadaharu doubted any government would actually provide any one within a witness protection program unlimited funds to spend however they pleased. So, did that mean that Evans's family was rich? That it had been his parents that shipped him out of the country in order to protect him?

If that was the case, then where were Evans's parents? Why didn't they move to Japan with him? What kind of parents would send their traumatized child half a world away all alone? Wouldn't it have been far more prudent for at least one of his parents to have come with him? Or were his parents suspected of having ties to the cult that had targeted Evans? If that was the case though, then why would they have left Evans with enough money for him to splurge a small fortune on tennis equipment or other things?

On top of that, Sadaharu vaguely recalled Echizen saying that his okaasan had agreed to take Evans in as a favor for an old friend.

That was a strange way to word a request to house a child that was in a witness protection program.

Then there was the matter of exactly what was meant by an 'old friend'. Was it is a childhood friend that had asked for a favor? Was it a friend from school or university? And did the adjective 'old' imply a close friend or was it mean to imply a past relationship; as in a former friend that one was no longer close to? In any case, the term 'old friend' was rather subjective and Sadaharu would need to know far more about said 'friend' before he could determine whether or not his or her involvement would cast a different light on any of his current data.

Sadaharu's thoughts on the matter were interrupted by his mother's voice calling up the stairs, "Sadaharu, you have a phone call!"

Frowning at the inconvenient timing of the unexpected call, Sadaharu saved his file and closed it out before he headed downstairs to retrieve the phone from his mother. He thanked her as she passed the cordless over to him before she headed back into the kitchen to return to her preparations for supper.

"Moshi, moshi," Sadaharu greeted as he put the phone to his ear and headed back upstairs to his room.

"_Hey, Inui-sempai; it's Momo-chan. Have you heard the good news?_"

"What news?"

"_Evans was dropped off at Echizen's place half an hour ago._"

"He was? Are you certain?"

"_Hai, Echizen and I spent the afternoon smacking a ball around at the makeshift court up at the shrine behind his place and I saw him myself as I was leaving just a little while ago._"

"Did you see who dropped him off?"

"_No, whoever it was didn't stick around._"

"He could have taken a taxi," Sadaharu mused half to himself. "How did Evans look to you?"

"_Different. Not so moody. He even smiled at me… or maybe he was smiling at Echizen… either way he gave us both a smile before he disappeared into the house._"

"Yokatta."

"_Yeah, Echizen was pretty pleased that he was back too._"

"Yes, I had noticed that Echizen seemed rather distracted after Evans had been pulled out of school."

"_Distracted…? Try more like moody! He was snapping at everyone at the drop of a hat by the end of the week._"

"True, but that was no less than expected due to how close the two of them are."

"_Are we talking about the same two freshmen? From what I've seen, they're not close at all._"

"That's because you are only looking at one aspect of their friendship. Both Echizen and Evans are rather reserved in nature and tend to stick to themselves so it is only natural that they would both gravitate towards one another since they will not feel pressured to make small talk when in each other's company. If confronted, however, neither of them would ever admit to seeing the other as a friend because that is not their way."

"_Whatever, as far as I'm concerned, they're both moody little brats with a bit of skill._"

"Echizen beat you again, didn't he?"

"_Anyway, I just wanted to pass on the good news about Evans's return! I'll let you go now though because I have to pass on the good news the rest of the team. Bye, Inui-sempai! I'll see you tomorrow morning at practice._"

"Probability that Echizen thoroughly wiped the floor with Momoshiro during their practice this afternoon; one hundred percent," Sadaharu deduced as the dial tone rang in his ear the moment Momoshiro hung up on his end.

The teen then clicked the end button on the cordless to end the call on his end and returned it to its charging cradle downstairs before he sat down in front of his computer once more. Sadaharu would spend another twenty minutes reorganizing the data in Evans's file (including adding the time of his return) before he wrote out a very specific list of questions that he would need to get answered for the sake of filling in the holes of his research. Once he had saved the file again, he closed it out and opened up the recipe and data for his Inui Juice once more.

Before he started tweaking the recipe to improve the vegetable juice, Sadaharu briefly wondered if he should go to the Echizens in order to visit Evans and see for himself that the kid was all right. He quickly discarded that notion; least he give the gaki more ammunition to accuse him of being a stalker once more. He would undoubtedly see Evans at practice first thing tomorrow morning in any case. Decision made, Sadaharu turned his attention to the data in front of him and focused on more important things now that he had one less thing to worry about.

Once he finished making the adjustments to the recipe, Sadaharu ducked out of the house to purchase those ingredients he didn't have on hand; making certain to buy enough to make a double batch of Inui Juice. When he returned home, he put everything away and helped his okaasan dish up supper and set the table.

After the meal, he hauled out the blender and started the first batch of juice; a small smirk on his face as he imagined the reactions of his fellow tennis players. As he poured the finished Inui Juice into a cooler for easy transport, he wondered what Evans would make of his Inui Juice when he finally got his first taste of the specialized vegetable juice.

Maybe he should whip up a special batch just for Evans in order to impress upon the gaki that it was impolite to make his sempai worry for him. He was certain the rest of the club would see it as ample punishment for the trouble he had caused (unintentional though it had been).

In any case, Sadaharu was one hundred percent certain he'd enjoy watching Evans's reaction.

* * *

**Translations:** Japanese to English

Moshi, moshi – hello (on the phone)  
Okaasan – mother  
Yokatta – an expression of relief, usually translates as 'I'm so glad' or 'thank goodness!'

**Notes:**

Fuji's first name – There are several different spellings of Fuji's first name 'Shūsuke' and they include Syusuke, Shuusuke, and Shusuke from what I have seen. I chose to use Syusuke because that is the one that appears in the anime during the opening credits in a handful of episodes (twenty-seven; _Karupin's Adventure_ comes to mind off the top of my head) and MS Word's spell check doesn't like the fiddly little symbols over the vowels; which is why I rarely ever use them except in notes and on very rare occasions.

* * *

**AN:** _And here's the first of four chapters that I'll be posting on this story this weekend. I have to say, Inui is rather difficult to write at times. Remembering to throw in a few statistics and odds every now and then is not easy because I don't think that way. Anyway, this chapter was kind of a filler chapter just to show how others were taking Harry's absence. There was also a bit of comic relief there at the end; Momoshiro is just so fun to tease! *snickers*  
_

_In any case, all of the previous chapters have been updated with edits and while I did quite a bit of rewording in some sections, the story remains unchanged (as in I didn't make any significant changes to the story or plot) and therefore there is no real need for anyone to go back and reread the first eleven chapters. Unless you really want to, then by all means, fill your boots! _

_The rest of the updates I have prepared for this fic will be posted one a day w/ the last chapter adding a note as to which story I'll be editing &amp; updating next weekend. ~ Jenn_


	13. Back to School, Again

**Disclaimer:** _I used to write out a very specific disclaimer explaining exactly what it is I don't own but I find myself not really interested in doing so as it is very tedious. Suffice it to say I own nothing that was created by anyone else and I am making no money whatsoever from the writing of this FanFiction._

**Warnings:** _Mild to moderate violence, character death, foul language, alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon from both worlds goodbye), angst, drama, and who knows what else. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

Chapter Thirteen: Back to School, Again

_Monday, May 24, 1993, Early Morning  
Seishun Gakuen, Tokyo, Japan_

Harry reached up to shut off his alarm clock before he pushed himself up and blinked numbly at the familiar room he'd slept in for the first time in almost a week. Part of him felt a little weird about being back at the Echizens after the time he'd spent with Master Watanabe. Another part of him was looking forward to going back to school. And the rest of him was worried about how well he'd be received once he did return.

He hadn't exactly left the school on the best of terms.

The memory of his emotional meltdown and the subsequent explosion of accidental magic made Harry wince.

He then took a deep breath and let his worries out on the exhale as he pushed off his covers and got up so he could get ready for the day. As he flew through his morning ablutions on autopilot, Harry let his mind wander through the results of the time that he'd spent with Master Watanabe.

To start, he'd taken the first step in dealing with all of the emotional baggage he'd been carrying around with him for so long. He still had a long ways to go and it would be months before his head was 'screwed on right' (Master Watanabe's words, not his) but it was a beginning. Still, Harry was not looking forward to round two in the Well of Healing at the end of next month. Nor was he looking forward to the memory reviews that Master Watanabe had mentioned they would start the next time Harry met with the man (which would be during the coming weekend).

Next, he'd learned the proper way to manage his emotions through meditation; that lesson had stuck fairly quickly because Harry did not like being smacked about with a paper fan (even if it was painless). By the end of his second meditation session, he had theorized that those giant paper fans were incredibly useful for curbing bad habits and Harry had snagged the conveniently abandoned harisen that he had found in his cabin when he'd been packing up his things. He'd replace it after he found a place where he could buy a few more. In the mean time, the borrowed fan was tucked away in his tennis bag for easy access.

Another thing that Harry had learned was that he truly still had his magic. It had been rather hard to believe both Healer Kyomoto and Master Watanabe had been telling him the truth about that right up until he'd seen his broken wand reacting to his touch. That discovery had made it much easier to believe everything else that the two adults had told him since he'd 'woken up' to Master Watanabe's face in Coach Ryuzaki's office.

Another result of Master Watanabe finding him had been his improved health. The potions that Healer Kyomoto had prescribed for him had begun to show results by Sunday evening. The most notable improvements were an increase in appetite, a boost to his physical stamina, healthier skin, and a slight increase in weight. The less noticeable improvements were the strengthening of his bone structure, extensive repairs to his internal organs, and a slight increase in muscle mass (which is where he'd gained the weight from). Also unseen was the slight reduction of Loadstone fragments (both in size and number) in his system.

In short, the potions were correcting the effects of prolonged malnutrition (from his years at the Dursleys since they'd not provided him with a balanced diet, even if they had fed him; their own diet had hardly been appropriate either) and an assortment of untreated or poorly treated injuries that he'd received during his numerous misadventures.

All in all, it was a lot to take in.

At the same time, it was just the beginning.

In fact, according to Master Watanabe, they'd barely scratched the surface of the healing (mental, emotional, magical, and physical) that Harry still needed. Technically, they hadn't even started his magical education (which had been sorely lacking in the first place in addition to being cut short).

To that end, Harry would be spending the weekends with Master Watanabe and be exempted from weekend practices and school functions (bar the dates of the tournament matches since he was required to 'cheer' for the Regulars as they faced the tennis teams from other schools). Instead of being picked up and dropped off each weekend by Master Watanabe (like he had for this first trip out to his master's home), Harry would be taking a portkey (which he'd learned was a magical device that transported the user between two locations) to and from the Ranch.

The portkey that Harry had been given was in the form of a flat clay pendant shaped and painted like a trio of toads that holding hands was threaded into a leather cord. The pendant had three preset locations that it would take Harry to based upon which toad he was touching when he activated it with a short whistle followed by a click of the tongue. The three destinations were set as follows; the right toad (painted blue and green) would deliver him to his apprentice cabin, the middle toad (painted orange and red) would take him to the waiting room of Tokyo's Pediatric Health Clinic, and the left toad (painted black and gold) would deliver him to a deserted alley (that had recently been warded to keep people out) just a few yards away from the Echizens.

He would be able to use the portkey from virtually anywhere (bar from inside of an anti-portkey ward) to get to any one of the preset locations. It could also be used at any time (so long as the magic in the device was fully charged – the device drawing ambient magic from the air so that it didn't stress Harry's unstable core); which meant that Harry could use it during an emergency if necessary. He could even take up to two additional people with him but he was only ever to do so in a life threatening situation or if he had permission from Master Watanabe to bring someone with him.

Harry's newly arranged weekend sessions with Master Watanabe meant that he would no longer be required to attend his tri-weekly meetings with Mr. Natsume. In fact, Harry would only be required to meet with Mr. Natsume at the end of each month in order to discuss any school related issues that had cropped up over the course of the month. The extra free time that gave him would then be used for meditation practice instead. That meant that Harry would now be spending the forty minutes between sixth period and tennis practice every day to meditate; something he could do pretty much anywhere.

Harry let out a silent sigh as he grabbed his book bag and tennis bag before heading downstairs. He set both bags by the front door and grabbed out his whiteboard and marker before scooping up his running shoes. He moved into the kitchen next and took a moment to write out a note letting his hosts that he was out back exercising and left it on the table where it would be easily spotted. The one-eyed wizard then slipped outside and put on his shoes before he began running through a series of warm up stretches.

By the time he'd finished his exercises (which were a mesh of the exercises that Healer Kyomoto had assigned him and those that Inui had had him doing since he joined the Tennis Club) an hour later, the Echizens were just waking up. Harry would actually run into Mrs. Echizen on her way to the kitchen when he was heading back upstairs to take a quick shower and change into his uniform. He would still beat Ryoma back to the kitchen; his fellow freshman dragging his heels as usual because he was _not_ a morning person.

Once he had taken his morning dose of potions (he still had another week's worth to take) and finished his breakfast, he collected his lunch and headed for the front door to check that he had everything he needed for school that day (including a couple of notes that would need to be delivered to the school's administration and Coach Ryuzaki) before he tucked his running shoes into his bag and slipped on his school shoes. A still half asleep Ryoma joined him a minute later and the two of them slipped out the door together once Ryoma had his shoes on and headed to school.

They were halfway to school when Ryoma finally finished waking up and the first thing he did was turn towards Harry and ask, "You do know that the moment we get to school, the others are going to feel the need to interrogate you about what happened last week and why you've been gone all this time, ne?"

Harry shot a sideways glance at Ryoma (the twelve year old walking on his left as he usually did) even as he nodded an acknowledgement. He knew he owed quite a few people answers; though there would be far fewer answers than they would be hoping to get since there was much that Harry was still not allowed to talk about. Like magic. Even if Japan had different policies regarding the International Statute of Secrecy, he still couldn't go around telling everyone and their brother about the existence of magic.

"Are you actually going to answer any of their questions?" Ryoma asked next as they came to a stop at an intersection and waited for the light to change so they could cross the street. Harry held up one index finger where Ryoma could see it then dropped his hand for a couple of seconds before he held up his index and middle finger. "Does that mean you'll answer one or two questions?"

Harry nodded again as he flashed a small smirk at his fellow freshman who snorted in amusement as a result.

"Mada, mada dane," Ryoma muttered under his breath as he pulled his cap low. "I noticed you brought your racquet; does that mean you'll be rejoining practices now?"

Harry nodded one last time before a companionable silence fell over the two of them as the light turned green and they continued on their way. That was one thing he'd always liked about Ryoma; the other boy didn't feel a constant need to talk all of the time and when he did talk, he used as few words as possible. Unless he was taunting you; then he could find all sorts of annoying things to say. Luckily, Harry had yet to be on the receiving end of one of Ryoma's taunting streaks outside of his sniping on Tuesday morning after Inui had broken Harry out of his running trance.

Upon arriving at school ten minutes later, the pair headed straight to the courts for practice since the office wouldn't be open for another hour. There were already a number of club members in and around the courts when they reached them and more than a few elbows were introduced to stomachs and sides as people noticed Harry's presence. Harry did his best to ignore the staring; it was something he was long used to, even if he didn't like being stared at. The two of them would be waylaid just outside of the club room by Tezuka-buchou and Harry swallowed back his nervousness as met the teen's gaze without hesitation.

"Echizen, get changed and start warming up. Evans, come with me; Ryuzaki-sensei is waiting for us in her office."

Harry tipped his head to the side and gestured to his bags before jerking his thumb at the club room; a clear request for permission to set his things down so he wouldn't have to carry them. Tezuka took only a few seconds to consider the request before he nodded once in permission. Harry gave a quick bow of thanks before he darted inside the room as he slipped the straps of both bags from his shoulder, dug out his whiteboard, marker, and the note for Ryuzaki-sensei before he shoved everything else into his assigned cubby.

In less than a minute, he was back outside and ready to face the consequences of his previous loss of control during his last meeting with Ryuzaki-sensei and his buchou. Tezuka silently turned and led him towards the building where Coach Ryuzaki's office was located and Harry couldn't help but wonder if the captain had been born with his poker face or if he'd developed it over time. He was still trying (and failing) to picture a little miniaturized Tezuka with anything but his stone-like expression in all kinds of silly scenarios (such as covered in baby food after trying to feed himself) when they reached Coach Ryuzaki's office just a few minutes later.

He felt a brief flash of fear as he stepped into the office (his mind flashing back to his panic attack last week) before he stamped down hard on the emotion and let it go as he took a couple of slow, deep breaths. He knew it wasn't the office that frightened him and it technically wasn't even the people inside of the office. Once Harry felt he had regained control of himself, Harry crossed the room and passed Ryuzaki-sensei the note from Master Watanabe requesting that he be excused from weekend practices and the attached copy of Healer Kyomoto's physical restrictions.

"I am a little concerned with how much practice you will be missing out on each week now that you won't be attending any of the weekend practices," Coach Ryuzaki commented with a slight frown once she skimmed through both papers.

Harry nodded an acknowledgement before he wrote a reply on his whiteboard; _I will no longer be attending tri-weekly afternoon counseling sessions with Natsume-san, so I won't actually be late to practice on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays any longer. The only time I would be late is on the last day of each month when I will meet with him regarding school._

"So desu ka? Then I see no foreseeable issues with excusing you from Saturday practices. I will also be sure to give you a copy of the tournament schedule to pass to Watanabe-dono so he will know which weekend the tournament matches will fall on. As for the new restrictions that your new doctor has placed you on; just be sure that you provide Inui-kun with a copy of them since he is the one who has been managing everyone's training schedule."

Harry nodded in acceptance before he asked; _was there anything else you needed, Ryuzaki-sensei?_

"Yes, as a matter of fact there is; we never did finish our discussion last week nor did we set your punishment for the stunt you pulled."

Harry swallowed thickly at the reminder of the panic attack that had interrupted his meeting with Coach Ryuzaki the previous week. He also couldn't help but worry just a little bit about what kind of a punishment she would give him but he was at least grateful that she couldn't set him to scrubbing cauldrons or gutting potion ingredients. He in no way missed the number of horrid and humiliating detentions that Snape used to give for him on the flimsiest of excuses.

"First of all, I owe you an apology for trying to push you when you were already distressed," Coach Ryuzaki stated with a trace of regret. "I will try to be more considerate in the future."

_It wasn't your fault_, Harry replied automatically; the wizard feeling more than a little uncomfortable with an adult apologizing to him when it had been his weakness that had been the problem at the time.

"It's nice of you to say so, Evans-kun; but it is my job as an instructor to be aware enough of my students to not cause them undue stress when they are having problems outside of school related issues. I made a mistake in the heat of the moment and you were the one that suffered for it."

_You were only trying to help me, sensei._

"True, but I could have gone about it a bit differently and avoided making things worse for you," Coach Ryuzaki replied with a wry grin. She then grew serious once more as she carefully asked, "Would you be willing to share with me what it was I said or did that triggered your panic attack last week? I would like to avoid another such incident if at all possible."

Harry swallowed around the sudden lump that rose up in his throat. He'd known that someone was going to ask him that question at some point but he didn't know if he was ready to actually answer it or not. He bit his lip in indecision as he tried to decide whether it would be easier to answer it now and get it over with or wait until later while living under the knowledge that the question would crop up again and again until it was answered. It wasn't until Coach Ryuzaki made an attempt to take back her question that Harry finally reached a decision.

"You don't have to answer…"

Harry unconsciously snapped his hand up to give the universal sing for 'stop' before he even fully register what Coach Ryuzaki had been saying. He then closed his eyes and took a deep breath to center himself before he wrote out a request on his whiteboard.

_Could I please borrow a pen and notepad to answer your question? My answer's too long to fit on my board and it would be easier to just write it down all at once instead of bit by bit._

"Of course, Evans-kun," Coach Ryuzaki replied as she dug out the requested items and passed them to the freshman.

Harry gave a little half bow of thanks with a brief nod as he accepted the items before he unceremoniously dropped down to sit on the floor so he could use his knee as a table. He then put pen to paper and let the words flow from his heart as he tried to explain what had been bothering him last week. It wasn't what he had originally planned but it was what he knew he needed to say. If there was one thing that Master Watanabe had beat into his head this past weekend, it was that it was better to get everything out than to hold it in and let it fester.

He would end up filling up close to four pages (both front and back) by the time he'd finished getting everything off his chest and that was without mentioning magic and without really going into any details. He then listed off those triggers that he knew and recognized because even he could see the sense behind avoiding the things that would set him off until he was no longer quite so jumpy. And desensitizing him to his panic triggers was something that Master Watanabe had said they would work on in future sessions.

In the mean time, actually letting an adult that had treated him fairly know what would likely set him off would also make his life that much easier, or so he hoped.

Once he had finished writing, Harry was surprised to find he felt far better; as if just writing all of that down had made his memories just a little easier to bear. He had a brief moment of insecurity as he stressed over the idea of any one actually reading what he'd written but he ignored it as he slowly climbed back to his feet. Harry then returned the pad and pen to Coach Ryuzaki before he could change his mind and tear up everything he'd written. The next few minutes would pass far too slowly for Harry's peace of mind as the woman skimmed through an essay that pretty much outlined just how messed up he was.

"Arigatou, Evans-kun; this is… far more than I expected and it explains much that I did not understand and I only skimmed through what you wrote for the time being," Coach Ryuzaki murmured as she set the pad on her desk once she had finished. "Why don't you go down and join the others on the courts for the remaining hour of practice? And I think maybe two weeks worth of after practice ball duty will be sufficient punishment for ignoring myself and your captain last week. You can start this afternoon and work with whoever was assigned as this week's ball manager."

Harry nodded in relief at the light punishment and over the meeting coming to an end. He then bowed to both Coach Ryuzaki and Captain Tezuka (who hadn't said a word during the entire meeting) before he hurried out of the room. Eight minutes later, he had changed into his gym clothes and was just stepping onto Court A where the rest of the freshmen were practicing their swings and the regulars were holding practice games with his tennis bag slung over his shoulder. He'd barely stepped through the gate when he found himself faced with the first trial.

"Roomy-chan! You're alive!" Kikumaru crowed as he immediately dropped what he was doing and bounded across the court in Harry's direction.

Harry stared at the senior with a deer-in-the-headlights look for several precious seconds before he regained enough of his wits to unzip his tennis bag and whip out his greatest weapon; the harisen. Harry then proceeded to whap Kikumaru on the head with the giant paper fan before the grabby redhead could get his mitts on him. Kikumaru comically fell back on his butt with a startled yelp while Harry remained standing with his newest best friend extended out in front of him. More than one of the other club members gaped at him in shock over the silliness of the moment.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, someone started giggling in response to Kikumaru getting batted with a paper fan by Harry. That set off a chain reaction and soon almost everyone was either snickering or outright laughing at the now pouting senior. Harry licked his lips nervously as he slowly lowered the hand that was still holding the fan while eyeing his sempai to insure he wasn't going to try hugging him again any time soon.

"That was so mean, Roomy-chan," Kikumaru complained as he hopped back onto his feet; the small smile on his face telling Harry that he actually wasn't upset about being swatted with the harisen.

"Unexpected too; it's not like you to go around whapping your sempai like that," Momoshiro quipped as he slipped up beside Harry in an attempt to catch him in a headlock only to end up being thwacked across the forehead with the fan when Harry swung his arm sideways to stop him. The junior jumped back in surprise and slapped a hand to his face; as if he had trouble believing that had just happened.

"Do you think Evans is trying to tell us something?" Horio demanded loudly as he planted one hand on his hip while his other hand stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"Phsss," Kaidou hissed as he tried to hide the grin that had formed the moment Momoshiro had gotten a face full of fan.

"I think Evans-kun is just happy to be back," Fuji stated around a chuckle.

"There is also an eighty-six percent chance that Evans just got tired of people trying to grab him and so deemed it necessary to resort to more demonstrative but harmless methods of making his displeasure of having his personal space invaded known," Inui interjected logically as he popped up unexpectedly from behind Harry and earned himself a bop on the nose from said fan when Harry spun around to face him. "I stand corrected; my theory was one hundred percent correct."

Inui's response, delivered in his usual monotone, triggered another round of laughter from everyone. As did the sheepish expression on Harry's face as he hid his fan behind his back and took a couple of steps backwards from the bespectacled teen. A blush spread over Harry's face; he couldn't believe he'd just smacked Inui-sempai. He supposed he should at least be thankful that he hadn't knocked the teen's glasses off since that might have actually made him mad.

His heart was also beating fairly quickly as it occurred to him that he'd just whapped three upperclassmen. On purpose. Well, hitting Inui had been an accident. But he'd purposefully hit Kikumaru and Momoshiro. That had actually been kind of funny. The looks on their faces had been rather priceless too. Part of him then wondered if he'd worn the same shocked expression that first time when Master Watanabe had smacked him with a fan.

"Alright, everyone; back to work! There will be plenty of time to welcome Evans back to school later," Oishi, the team's vice captain, announced as he clapped his hands together after another couple of minutes had passed. "Evans, if you haven't already done so; go warm up and join the rest of the freshmen."

Harry was quick to swap his harisen out for his tennis racquet and spent a couple of minutes running through a light series of stretches before he hurried over to fall into line with the other freshmen. He then held himself still and took a couple of steadying breaths as he monitored the rhythm of their swings before he joined in the exercise. The one-eyed wizard found himself a little surprised when he realized just how much he'd missed tennis practice now that he was finally training once more.

A small smile crept onto his face as he performed yet another textbook perfect fore-handed swing with his right hand; his body relaxing just a little more with each swing.

As the group switched from forehand swings to backhand swings, Harry couldn't help but be reminded of the endless flying drills that Wood had put the team through during Quidditch practice. He froze mid-swing just two seconds later as he suddenly realized that the fact that he hadn't truly lost his magic meant that he might one day be able to fly again despite the loss of his right eye. It was one of the few things that Harry had missed the most. Harry dropped his arm and cast his gaze skyward as he recalled what it felt like to soar through the sky unfettered and completely free.

"Evans! Quit daydreaming and get back to swinging!" Oishi suddenly barked; the senior's voice snapping Harry out of his daydream quite suddenly.

Dropping his head back down, Harry quickly resumed swinging but this time he was no longer in sync with the other freshmen and his body was no where near as relaxed as it had been just seconds earlier. His heart was pounding in his chest and he could practically hear the blood rushing through his ears in poor mimicry of the whooshing sound that the wind used to make when it tore passed his ears while flying. All he wanted to do, right that minute, was find a broom and take to the skies.

It wasn't until he recalled that it would be at least a year before he'd be allowed to even sit on a broom that he was able to push back his desire to defy gravity. Once he did, he paused for all of ten seconds in order to synchronize his swings with everyone else's. He then focused on his training; forcing his mind to stay blank as he ran through fifty repetitions of each basic swing used in tennis alongside the other freshmen. By the time they'd finished the last repetition of right-handed swings, Harry was stiff and sore due to how tense he'd remained after his brief slip up.

And still thoughts of flying teased the edges of his mind as the group moved onto the next series of exercises as they moved their racquets into their left hands.

Once they were finished with their training program, most of the freshmen scattered throughout the courts in use to act as ball fetchers while the juniors and seniors had their practice matches. Harry and two other freshmen (whose names he didn't know), on the other hand, were sent to fill up empty water bottles for those playing. He'd just delivered another half a dozen freshly filled water bottles and collected another group of empties when Inui unexpectedly snagged hold of his left wrist and pulled the sleeve of his undershirt up to reveal his bare wrist.

Harry scowled lightly at the teen but didn't yank his arm away least he drop the bottles he was carrying.

"Why aren't you wearing your training weights?" Inui inquired as he frowned down at Harry.

Harry blinked as he realized that he'd forgotten to give Inui a list of his new restrictions. He then tugged at his arm until Inui released him so he could shift the bottles he was carrying into his left arm before pointing to Inui's pencil and notebook and then mimed writing. The teen passed Harry the pencil, flipped his notebook to a blank page, and then held the notebook against his arm (to support it) so Harry could write one-handed. Harry smiled his thanks before he scribbled out a quick reply before he returned the writing utensil.

_Doctor's orders; not allowed to wear the weights for at least another week. I will show you a copy of my restrictions after practice is over. I had planned to do that first but I got distracted._

"Is Ryuzaki-sensei aware of your restrictions?" Inui asked next and Harry nodded in reply.

The senior let out a thoughtful hum and reclaimed his pencil before he wandered away at that point and Harry shook his head as he watched him go. There were times when the teen was so scattered brained; especially when he got caught up in his data. Harry then returned to his assigned water runs before one of the upperclassmen complained about a lack of water to drink. Before he knew it, practice was over and he was changing back into his school uniform and collecting his things from his cubby.

"Do you still need to go to the office?" Ryoma inquired as he settled the strap of his bag over his shoulder and followed Harry out of the club room.

_I have to see Inui-sempai first,_ Harry wrote out on his whiteboard.

"Nande?"

_I need to let him know about the rest of the new restrictions that the doctor put me on._

"Doctor? Restrictions?" Ryoma replied with a slight frown.

Harry grimaced slightly before he just shrugged his shoulders and replied, _I spent a few hours at a health clinic last Tuesday for a check up and they noticed a few things that got missed. It's nothing too serious and there are only a couple of things I need to avoid until after my follow up appointment._

"How much of what was missed was a result of you running yourself into the ground that morning?" Inui inquired as he popped up behind both freshman and read Harry's comments over their shoulders.

Both pre-teens jumped in shock and twisted around in unison to scowl at the teen. Harry then rolled his eyes and let out a silent huff as he realized that the senior probably wasn't going to stop sneaking up on him any time soon. He then tensed as he registered the question that Inui had asked a moment earlier before he pursed his lips and considered whether or not to use the excuse that Inui had just provided for him to hide the truth behind what Healer Kyomoto had found. He then shook his head no; both at the thought of lying and in response to the question.

He then clarified his answer with; _none of it had anything to do with what happened last week. The new doctor I saw was a specialist and she found things that got missed from before. The person that originally treated my injuries also made a few mistakes that caused problems. It's being taken care of now._

"What exactly did the doctor find?" Inui fished curiously as the three of them began migrating towards the office.

_The relatives I lived with growing up had poor parenting skills and the school nurse at my previous school was not the most observant person in the world,_ Harry answered evasively once he cleared away his previous reply.

"Relatives? Not your parents?"

Harry stopped walking and reached up to trace over the spot where the lightning bolt scar had once sat on his forehead as he thought about his parents and all they had sacrificed to save him. He then let his fingers slip down to lightly dance over the fabric hiding the scar on his neck as he thought about the wizard that had murdered his parents and the two times he'd faced Voldemort's shade at Hogwarts. After a moment, he dropped his hand back to his side as he turned to meet Inui's gaze through his thick glasses as he tried to decide just how much to tell him and recall the exact wording of his cover story.

Once he reached a decision, he cleared his board again and wrote out; _my parents were murdered when I was a baby. The man that killed them was the leader of the cult that kidnapped me from my school. They died protecting me from him and hurt him in the process. He sought me out again for revenge and because he thought using me for the ritual would give him back the power he had lost after he failed to kill me as a baby._

Harry let both Ryoma and Inui read that before he wiped the board clean, shoved it in his bag, and started walking once more. He then pulled out the notes he was to give the office before he separated out the other copy of his restrictions and passed it to Inui. It only took Inui a couple of seconds to skim through the short list before he passed it back to Harry so he could turn it into the admin when he reached the office. Harry then broke away from both boys and trotted the rest of the way to the office in order to avoid any more questions for the moment.

Surprisingly, neither Ryoma nor Inui chased after him.

The rest of the day passed by fairly quickly as Harry easily fell back into the familiar routine of going to class and taking notes. He also collected a seeming ton of make up work that he would need to complete in order to catch up with the rest of his classmates after he'd basically missed an entire week of lessons. A few of his fellow freshmen (namely Horio) pestered him with questions during lunch but Harry was able to deflect the more intrusive ones easily enough. The rest he answered as truthfully as he could without mentioning magic or something too personal.

After sixth period, Harry would part ways with Ryoma for the second time that day after assuring his fellow freshman he would be fine on his own. The one-eyed pre-teen then made his way down to the courts, changed into his gym clothes, and made himself comfortable on the bench in the club room and spent the next forty minutes meditating.

He would remain undisturbed until the other club members began arriving for practice just a few minutes before four.

* * *

**Translations:** Japanese to English

Harisen – a giant paper fan (also called a slapping fan); it is most traditionally used as part of a comedy  
Nande – why  
Ne – used to solicit agreement or confirmation from the listener similar to using 'isn't it?' or 'right?' in English  
Sou desu ka? – Is that right?

* * *

**AN:** _Well, Harry's back at school now and he's loosened up just a little bit as evidenced by his use of slapstick comedy. Literally too. *snickers* And, hey, look! I even let Harry swing a racquet about a few times in this chapter! Anywho, the next chapter will be posted tomorrow. And I can't remember what else I wanted to say. So, ciao! ~ Jenn  
_


	14. Inui's Special Deluxe Vegetable Juice

**Disclaimer:** _I used to write out a very specific disclaimer explaining exactly what it is I don't own but I find myself not really interested in doing so as it is very tedious. Suffice it to say I own nothing that was created by anyone else and I am making no money whatsoever from the writing of this FanFiction._

**Warnings:** _Mild to moderate violence, character death, foul language, alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon from both worlds goodbye), angst, drama, and who knows what else. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

Chapter Fourteen: Inui's Special Deluxe Vegetable Juice

_Monday, May 24, 1993, Mid-Afternoon  
Seishun Gakuen, Tokyo, Japan_

"Wake up sleeping beauty; it's time for practice," Momoshiro sing-sang as he plopped down on the bench beside Harry and reached out to catch the meditating wizard in a headlock.

The junior once again received a fan slap to the face before he could touch Harry. Harry then peeled his one good eye open to mock glare at the teen; though anyone who knew how to look would have seen the smirk tugging at his lips in response to the petulant pout that Momoshiro was now wearing.

"It appears that we need to have a discussion on how to properly treat a sempai," Momoshiro stated as he stood up and tried to loom over Harry; a devious, if playful, glint sparkling in his eyes.

Harry tucked his harisen back into the tennis bag where he'd been keeping it before he tipped his head to one side and contemplated the often annoying, if friendly, teen. The wizard then intentionally leaned around Momoshiro as if to look at someone standing behind him and the junior automatically copied him as if to see what it was that had caught Harry's attention. The moment his eyes left Harry, the freshman grabbed his tennis bag and slipped out of the room with a silent snicker as Momoshiro finally realized he'd been duped and let out an indignant cry.

"Having fun, Evans?" Inui inquired as he popped unexpectedly beside Harry (who only half flinched at his sudden appearance this time) and Harry shrugged his shoulders and nodded as he tossed a smirk in Momoshiro's direction when the teen rushed out of the club room looking for him. "You do realize that there is a seventy-eight percent chance that he will prank you back for whatever it was you did, ne?"

Harry just shrugged his shoulders and gave Inui a lopsided grin; he wasn't too worried. Momoshiro seemed to be more bark than bite. Well, except when it came to his on-going rivalry with Kaidou. Those two fought worse than Ron and Malfoy; only without the risk of spells flying. Then again, they were far more liable to get grabby with one another than Harry's former peers.

"Would you mind pinning the squirt's feet in place for a moment, Inui-sempai?" Momoshiro asked in creepy tone that was filled with suppressed amusement. "I owe him a noogie or two for the fan slaps and for using such an underhanded trick to escape the lecture he obviously needs to hear."

"The three of you need to stop messing around and join everyone else in front of the courts," Coach Ryuzaki instructed as she walked by them and lightly bonked Momoshiro on the head with her clipboard.

"I will get you back, Evans," Momoshiro muttered under his breath with a small grin as the three of them hurried to where everyone else had already lined up to hear an announcement.

Harry simply stuck his tongue out at the junior in a fit of childishness; it was the type of behavior that he hadn't really allowed himself to engage in since he'd been expelled from Hogwarts. And it actually felt rather freeing to act his age for the first time in almost a year. His silliness drew a laugh from Momoshiro. His behavior also drew the eyes of the other members to him since he had previously never really interacted so playfully with anyone at Seigaku.

In truth, all that happened was that his eyes had been opened to how much he had been hurting himself by denying himself the human contact and friends that he so desperately wanted and needed.

Harry mostly ignored the attention he'd garnered as he fell into line beside the other freshmen (bar Ryoma who was up front with the rest of the regulars) near the back of the group after he'd dropped off his tennis bag inside of the nearest court where it wouldn't be tripped over. He then focused on Coach Ryuzaki's words as she addressed the group.

"Alright, listen up everyone. We only have three weeks until the Prefectural Tournaments start and that means that we need to step up our training in order to get whipped into shape before the twelfth; that is doubly so for the Regulars. Our main focus will be on stamina, speed, and strength while any specialized training will need to be taken care of on your own time. We'll start with laps; Regulars, make certain you're wearing your training weights before you start. Well…? What are you waiting for? Everyone get warmed up and get moving!"

Harry shifted away from the main group so he'd have plenty of room to stretch before he began warming up. He took his time stretching out his core muscle groups so that he wouldn't be the first one done; least Coach Ryuzaki believe that he planned to run himself into the ground again. However, he didn't wait for most of the freshmen to start running either as he didn't want to hold himself back too much. The wizard would end up somewhere in the middle of the entire group as he kept himself to a steady ground eating lope instead of going all out like those at the front of the pack.

After the first ten laps, Inui announced that anyone who didn't finish each lap in under two minutes would be required to drink something called Inui's Special Deluxe Vegetable Juice. Harry was rather confused when almost the entire club turned green before they immediately increased their pace and the one-eyed twelve year old was left in the dust as even the slowest of the freshmen passed him by.

"Run, Evans! Run for your life!" Horio called back over his shoulder and the sheer panic in the loudmouthed pre-teen's voice only served to confuse Harry further.

Shaking his head, Harry continued at the same pace; he already knew that it only took him one minute and forty seconds to complete a lap at his current pace. It wasn't long before the others began dropping like flies as they ran themselves into the ground in their efforts to maintain the increased speed and each time Harry passed the water table set up in front of the club room, he would see several members sprawled on the ground looking sick to their stomachs. Ryoma and a couple of the others had tried to get Harry to speed up each time they passed him but he stubbornly refused.

After the thirtieth lap, the required lap time was dropped to one minute, thirty-seconds and those that were still running began pushing their flagging bodies even harder. A few of them even renewed their efforts to get Harry to increase his pace but Harry slipped away from those that tried to latch onto his wrist and danced around those that tried to push him. He could have easily increased his speed to avoid them but he knew better than to push himself too far because Healer Kyomoto would undoubtedly get upset with him since one of his restrictions was not to over-stress his body by pushing past his current limits.

The result of his stubbornness was that Harry found his path blocked by Inui upon completing his thirty-first lap; a cup of green liquid the consistency of syrup held out in front of him.

"You are ten seconds over, Evans," Inui declared as a creepy grin crept onto his face.

Harry contemplated the cup before he gestured to Inui's note book; a silent request to borrow it for a moment. Inui consented and Harry quickly jotted down a question and a concern; _could you please tell me exactly what is in the stuff you want me to drink? There are certain things I have to avoid least they react badly to the medicine I am still on._

Inui blinked in surprise as he lowered the cup a moment before he replied, "Green pepper, bok choy, komatsuna, paseri, shiso, lemon pulp, honey, ginger, and water."

_I'm familiar with all of those except shiso; can you tell me what that is?_

"Shiso is another name for green perilla; it is a member of the perilla frutescens variety crispa of the family lamiaceae."

_Oh, I know what that is; only I know it as beefsteak plant,_ Harry replied back as he recognized the Latin name for the mint family before he passed the notebook back to Inui and accepted the cup from him now that he knew there was nothing in there that would react with the ingredients of his potions (which he'd received a list of from the pharmacy when he'd picked up his prescription).

He was just tipping back the contents of the cup when the dozen or so members still running finished their thirty-third lap around the courts. More than a few of them actually slowed down and twisted their heads around to watch him as he drained the cup; as if they were all waiting to see what would happen. A few of them would themselves fall victim to the dreaded liquid at the end of their current lap for their moment of inattention. Harry ignored them to analyze the flavor of the vegetable drink as he mentally compared it to the different potions he'd taken to date.

While it wasn't exactly a palatable concoction, it was no where near as disgusting as his prescription potions and it didn't settle in his stomach like a rock. He also felt as if it was missing something…

"He's still standing," Mizuno gasped out in shock from the ground after another minute had passed.

"No way! I've never seen anyone but Fuji-sempai and Tezuka-buchou drink any of Inui's Juices without keeling over the moment it hits their stomach," Horio countered loudly from his position on the ground beside the rest of the freshmen.

Harry shot the two speakers a funny look before he returned his attention to Inui, gestured to the court as he mimed running with his fingers, and then pointed to himself.

"Er, yes, you can go finish your laps now," Inui agreed absently as he accepted the cup back.

Harry saluted the senior before he took off running as a chorus of disbelieving cries rose from the fallen members of the club that had not survived their dose of Inui's Special Deluxe Vegetable Juice. As he ran, Harry searched his memory for what he could sense was missing from the vegetable juice. He found himself surrounded by those Regulars that he interacted with most just a few minutes later.

"You don't have to soldier through your laps if you're feeling sick, you know," Momoshiro pointed out with some concern from Harry left side.

"No one else will think poorly of you if sit out until your stomach is no longer queasy," Ryoma added from Harry's blind side.

"If the three of you don't get moving, you're all going to have to have another cup," Oishi reminded them as he and Kikumaru moved out from behind the three of them and quickly passed them.

"Phsss, if you don't move out of the way so the rest of us can pass, I'm going to drag you down with me when I am forced to drink that vile stuff," Kaidou hissed as he rushed up behind Momoshiro and gave him a hard push to get him to move. The bandana-wearing teen then glanced at Harry as he added, "If you were smart, you'd run faster too."

Harry just flashed the junior a grin and shook his head no; he didn't see what was all that terrible about the Inui Special Deluxe Vegetable Juice. That earned Harry a few disbelieving looks before the entire group pulled away from him in order to avoid taking too long on their current lap.

"Made, made dane," Ryoma tossed out as he spared Harry one last glance from where he was running near the front of the pack.

"You've got no room to talk, Echizen; you didn't even finish the first cup you earned," Momoshiro remarked as the group turned the corner several yards in front of Harry.

"Neither did you, baka," Kaidou growled grumpily.

"I don't want to hear that from you, Mamushi; your face turned green when you drank Inui's poison!"

"Phsss!"

Harry let out a silent snort as the two juniors continued their bickering as they ran side by side; neither one of them allowing the other to get ahead of them. The one-eyed wizard desperately wished he could still speak; he'd love to tell them both that their nothing but a bunch of pansies if they couldn't handle a mildly gross veggie drink. Harry had been forced to drink things that tasted of rancid bile, rotten cabbage, and unwashed gym shorts; he'd take a little vegetable juice over any healing potion in a heartbeat.

One minute and forty seconds after he'd left Inui's side, Harry was once again approaching the water table and he didn't hesitate to take the fresh cup of Special Deluxe Vegetable Juice from Inui's hand when the teen hesitantly held it out to him. This time, instead of gulping it all down in one go, Harry sipped at it and rolled the puréed mixture on his tongue in an effort to identify that hint of something missing that he'd tasted the first time around. A pair of seniors actually tripped over their feet when they'd whipped their heads around to stare at Harry in shock over the fact that he'd willingly taken a _second_ cup. They would both be knocked out by their own doses less than two minutes later.

"Evans, did you inform Inui of the medical restrictions that you were placed on?" Tezuka inquired as slowed to match Harry's pace instead of just passing him by like he had previously. "You should not be penalized for having a legitimate health related problem."

Harry nodded in response to the question and then shrugged in response to the comment before he silently toasted his captain and downed the cup's remaining contents. He then smiled at Tezuka to show that he was unaffected even as he crushed the cup and tossed it into one of the many rubbish bins scattered about the area.

"The taste doesn't really bother you, does it," Fuji stated more than asked from the other side of Tezuka.

Harry shrugged his shoulders and held his left palm level to the ground as he shook back and forth to indicate that he didn't exactly like the taste but that it didn't make him sick either. He was pretty certain he knew what it was missing now too but he'd have to ask Inui exactly what the juice was supposed to do before he got up the nerve to make any suggestions.

"Very few people can appreciate just how delicious and energizing Inui's vegetable juices can be," Fuji commented as he flashed a smile at Harry. "Personally, I like his latest recipe even better than the original recipe."

"That's only because you have a stomach of steel and your taste buds were all killed by wasabi," Kikumaru accused as he and Oishi flew passed them on the right. Harry's hissing laughter drew the group's attention. He could not believe that so many people couldn't even stomach a harmless little vegetable juice. "Yeah, yeah; laugh it up, Roomy-chan! I bet you burned all your taste buds off with wasabi too."

Harry shook his head no and smirked at the redhead as he lifted up his right hand and slowly spelled out the word; _wimp_.

It took a couple of tries for the others to get what he was trying to say but eventually they got the gist of it and Kikumaru ended up chasing him for two full laps; Harry laughing the entire time. The last eight upperclassmen that were not part of the Regulars ended up going over their allotted lap time as a result of them gawking at Harry; apparently most of the club had believed him to have no sense of humor at all. Harry was still laughing when he finally finished his fiftieth lap (and drank another five cups of Inui's Special Deluxe Vegetable Juice – Coach Ryuzaki had cut him off at number seven out of concern for what that much of the juice would do to him).

While everyone else recovered from the juice or began their strengthening exercises, Harry grabbed his whiteboard and approached Inui. Inui glanced up from his notebook when Harry purposefully scuffed his shoe on the dirt to get the teen's attention and asked, "Was there something you needed, Evans?"

_Hai, I wanted to know if you would tell what the purpose of your vegetable juice was meant to be._

"The purpose?" Inui repeated curiously as he lowered his notebook and adjusted his glasses as if bringing Harry into better focus would help him divine Harry's reasons for asking. "Aside from working as a powerful motivator for those who dislike the taste, the Inui Special Deluxe Vegetable Juice was meant to provide the drinker with a concentrated amount of essential nutrients to replace what is lost or used during exercise. Why do you ask?"

_I was curious. I also thought the juice was missing something but without knowing what the drink was meant to do it was hard to guess what it needed._

"Missing…? You think the recipe is missing something?" Inui inquired; the slight surprise coloring his usual monotone drawing the attention of those who were close enough to overhear the half verbalized conversation.

_Hai, the flavor is a bit off and it leaves a strong aftertaste but it is otherwise fine, if it was just the taste you wanted as a result. However, if you want it to provide a decent amount of nutrients, you'd be better off switching out the beefsteak plant leaves with stewed nettles._

"Why nettles?"

That question made more than a few of those listening blanch once they realized that Harry was giving Inui _ideas_ for 'improving' the Inui Juice recipe.

_Nettles are a good source of vitamins and minerals. Nettles are also well known for their healing properties._

"I see. How much would you recommend adding to a single batch? And was that the only thing you'd recommend adding to the recipe?"

_I'd need to see the recipe to gauge how many ounces you'd need in comparison to the size of the batch and the number of doses each batch produces. I'd also recommend adding celery stalk, which will balance out the taste of the nettles in combination with the spinach and cabbage as well as provide another percent of sodium to replace what is lost through sweat._

Harry waited for Inui to finish reading that before he cleared the board and hesitantly added; _you could even take it one step further and add willow bark tea to take the edge off of the normal aches and pains acquired through proper exercise and a bit of peppermint extract to reduce any nausea produced in those with weak stomachs. Though, I'm not sure if the peppermint would mix well with the ginger._

"Do you think you'd have time after practice to help me adjust the recipe with those suggestions?"

_I might_, Harry replied after a brief hesitation. _The only thing I had planned was to start on the ton of make-up work the instructors gave me today to make up for all that I missed while I was out. I'd just have to let the Echizens know so they don't worry about me. I suppose I could ask Ryoma to pass on a message…_

"Why not just call them…?"

Harry gave the teen a flat look over the top of his glasses before he retorted, _because I can't whistle in Morse Code and I doubt the Echizens are versed in how to interpret heavy breathing patterns or complex sequences of lisping hisses._

"So send them a text."

_I don't have a cell phone because I can't answer any incoming calls._

"You are capable of texting though, ne?" Inui pointed countered as he arched an eyebrow at Harry over his glasses.

_You're annoying, sempai_, Harry scribbled out in exasperation.

"And you're far too stubborn."

"Is there a problem here, boys?" Coach Ryuzaki inquired as she wandered over to find out why they were just standing around.

"No, just a difference of opinion on the usefulness of cell phones, sensei," Inui answered as he snapped his data book shut.

"Well, work it out after practice," Coach Ryuzaki instructed before she wandered off to check on the various groups scattered about the area.

Harry took that as his queue to start on his strengthening exercises and he set his marker and whiteboard down on the table before he moved off to one side in order to stretch out a bit before he shifted to the ground so he could start doing push ups. As he absently counted off the number of repetitions he was doing, Harry marveled at how much fun he'd had over the course of the day just because he'd stopped beating himself up over the fact that he enjoyed the company of his peers and their silly antics.

A small part of him still felt it was wrong to make friends because he couldn't trust them not to betray or abandon him but his memory of facing so many negative emotions recently had opened his eyes to the fact that he _wanted_ friends. He wanted people he could chat with or hang out with after school; people that he could goof around with in between classes or during lunch. He'd been alone for most of his childhood and he well knew how cold, empty, and boring it was to have no one to talk to or play with and he didn't want to experience that again.

Especially not when he now knew how nice it felt to have friends, even if he hadn't had them for very long.

Harry finished his last repetition of push ups, rolled over onto his back, and planted his feet firmly on the ground so he could start working on crunches next. This time, Harry's thoughts drifted to his absent (_former…?_) friends as he pulled his upper torso halfway up to his knees before laying back on the ground. Specifically, he thought about all of the annoying little things he'd not noticed or, more accurately, ignored about Hermione and Ron and the way they had treated him.

Hermione was smart but she flaunted her brains in such a way that she gave off the impression that she believed that she was the only one who was smart. She also treated all books as if they were the be-all and end-all of all knowledge and relied upon (more like worshipped) authority figures to the point that they could do no wrong in her eyes. Her tendency to constantly nag him (and others) to do homework, to obey and respect the professors, and to do this or that because she knew best had been more condescending than helpful since it implied that he was not smart. It also implied that he was not allowed to have an opinion or a mind of himself. That wasn't even touching on her competitive nature that had her making enemies of those that showed a level of intelligence equal to or greater than hers.

That isn't to say that Hermione was a horrible person. She wasn't. She just didn't have any social skills to speak of. Not that Harry's social skills were anything to brag about but he was just too much of a wallflower to put himself out there like Hermione often did. Harry much preferred to sink into the background and be forgotten because it had meant fewer hassles and less pain when he was younger. Hermione was also rather loyal as she stuck by Ron and Harry's sides once they'd formed an understanding on that fateful Halloween night.

Looking back now, Harry's willingness to let Hermione walk all over him had not helped her to gain any social skills; all it had done was vindicate her current behavior and solidify her bad habits.

Harry's thoughts turned to Ron next. His first friend. Ron was loud, opinionated, prejudiced, and insecure. The redhead got jealous at the drop of a hat and had a hair trigger temper. He also frequently spoke without thinking, picked fights for almost any reason at all, and preferred to get by with the least amount of effort possible. His social skills weren't any better than Harry's or Hermione's because of how insecure he felt in the shadow of his older brothers. His complete lack of table manners and tact didn't help him much either.

At the same time, Ron was loyal. He might not be the sharpest crayon in the box and watching him eat was nearly as disgusting as watching freshly hatched maggots devour a rotten steak but he [Ron] would stand by his friends no matter what. He was also brave; he had willingly sacrificed himself the night the three of them had gone after the Stone (which hadn't even really been the _right_ Stone and hadn't even _needed_ their protection).

It was the knowledge that both of his loyal friends had seemingly betrayed him that had hurt. It was as if everything they had gone through together just didn't matter to them any more. At one time, he never would have thought either of them capable of turning their backs on him like that. He hadn't really thought that either one of them would have signed him off as a lost cause just because he'd lost his magic.

Er, rather the misguided or false belief that he had lost his magic. Still, it was the principle of the matter that counted and the fact that Dumbledore and Pomfrey had lied about his magic (or were too backwards to realize that they had made a mistake) didn't change the fact that his friends had not contacted him after he had been expelled. And that basically meant, that for all intents and purposes, Harry had lost his magic (even though that loss had been temporary). Ron and Hermione still could have at least written to him and they could have come to see him before he had been expelled.

While most people could say the same thing regarding Harry, it wasn't a lack of effort that had stopped him from contacting Ron or Hermione. He had even written them a letter or two each but he hadn't been able to actually send any of them due to Dumbledore taking Hedwig. He couldn't even rent an owl to send a letter because he had no clue where to find an Owl Post Office in Japan. And he couldn't have done so when was still in England either because his aunt had kept him on a tight leash during the months leading up to his departure.

There was also the fact that he didn't have an address for either of them, so he couldn't even make an attempt to send the letters he'd written through the muggle post.

Finishing his last crunch, Harry dropped back to the ground and closed his eyes as he took a deep breath before letting it out slowly as he mentally imagined the grief and anger stirred by thoughts of Ron and Hermione leaving along with the air from his lungs. He did that twice more before he climbed to his feet and began his lunges, alternating his leading leg with each lunge forward. Jumping jacks would follow. He would have done pull ups and chin ups as well but there was a noticeable lack of bars about the courts unless one booked time in the weight room (which the Tennis Club did three times a week; one day for each year group).

As soon as everyone was finished with their calisthenics, they were split up amongst the courts and set to doing sprinting drills while holding their racquets. The idea was basically to get them used to moving across the court as fast as possible without needing to watch where they were going; teaching their bodies to instinctively move within the boundaries of the court. They were also required to run backwards, sideways, and diagonally in addition to straight forward (teaching them how to maintain their balance when chasing a ball and not watching where their feet were going). Racquet swings were included after the fifth set in order to train their bodies to use the proper forms of the various swings while moving.

It was a familiar drill and one that Harry had been introduced to the moment his enrollment in the Tennis Club had been confirmed. Over the past several weeks, he'd improved rather well and his speed had been increased by fifty percent thanks to the training weights he usually wore. He still wasn't any where near as fast as the Regulars or even some of the upperclassmen but he was the fastest of the freshmen (not counting Ryoma who had been clumped with the Regulars despite the fact that he was a first year).

Harry had always been fast on his feet but running on the streets of Little Whinging was nothing at all like covering one side of a tennis court. He had to be able to turn on a dime or switch directions in the blink of an eye and he had to do so while keeping his eye on a moving ball and without tripping up his feet. Harry had been able to do so instinctively once he set foot on a court but the moment he started thinking about what he was doing, he tended to trip over his feet because he over thought things. It had been training himself out of thinking about the drills that had taken time and practice.

"Your speed has improved, Evans," Inui stated as Harry finished his last drill and moved off the court to allow another to take his place. "Your footwork could still use some work though; especially when you are moving sideways; you keep crossing your feet too much. And your left handed swings were sloppy during the final drill; you'll need to work on your off arm a bit more since it's obvious that your left arm is still considerably weaker than your right."

Harry wrinkled his nose but nodded acceptance of the criticism. He wasn't surprised since the two things Inui mentioned were two things that Harry had been trying to work on for weeks.

"I also think it is about time that we start working on controlling your Tunnel-Zone State."

Harry started in surprise over that; he thought Inui would make him wait another month or two before he actually started letting him smack a ball around due to how easily he lost track of his surroundings the moment a ball was put into play. It was also something that Harry was looking forward to doing; since training was all well and good but _playing_ was so much more fun. That news was almost enough to forgive Inui for hassling him about a phone earlier. Key word; almost.

A small smile crept onto Harry's face as he joined the line of other freshmen that had completed their sprinting drills and stood a little ways away from them so he could practice his left-handed swings. Over the last half hour of practice, Harry would run through the sprinting drills two more times (both times using only left-handed swings) before they were dismissed for the day (though Harry had ball duty to take care of before his day was technically over).

He would end up whapping Kikumaru and Momoshiro with his harisen a few times when they attempted to latch onto him before he changed back into his uniform and hunted down Ryoma.

"Ready…?" Ryoma asked from where he'd been waiting for Harry beside the courts directly across from the club room.

Harry shook his head no as he dug out his whiteboard and marker from his bag to write; _Inui asked me to help him make a few adjustments to his vegetable juice using a couple of suggestions I gave him earlier to improve it._

Ryoma read through the sentence once and began nodding in acceptance before he suddenly froze, reread what was written, and blanched as the meaning behind the sentence finally registered in his mind. He then looked up to meet Harry's gaze head on; a look of utmost horror painted across his face and his mouth flapping uselessly.

"What the hell do you mean you're going to help Inui-sempai improve his Inui Juice!?" Ryoma demanded loudly once he finally managed to find his voice. "Inui-sempai doesn't need any help in making that vile stuff any worse than it already is!"

"Oh, no, no, no, no!" Momoshiro adamantly repeated the moment he heard Ryoma's declaration while passing the two freshmen. "Absolutely not! It is a crime to even think of messing with that stuff!"

Harry arched an eyebrow at the two of them before a wicked smirk grew on his face as he asked; _so, you'd rather let Inui-sempai experiment on his own as he attempts to alter the recipe instead of letting someone supervise him?_

Momoshiro opened his mouth to reply, only to close it a moment later as he realized the implications of an unsupervised Inui fiddling with his evil concoctions and adding who knew what to them. The junior then gave a full body shudder and Harry suspected the teen had just imagined just how much worse Inui could make his vegetable juices.

"Yes, well, when you put it that way…" Momoshiro finally relented; though the look on his face said he was anything but happy. "But you can't help him make them taste worse!"

_I'd be nice to me then, least I find reason to make those who annoy me suffer,_ was Harry's cheeky reply.

"You're annoying," Ryoma promptly declared as he scowled at Harry.

Harry just grinned while Momoshiro muttered under his breath about evil freshmen.

* * *

**Translations:** Japanese to English

Bok choy – Chinese cabbage  
Komatsuna – Japanese Mustard Spinach  
Mamushi – viper; Kaidou's nickname (mostly used by Momo)  
Paseri – parsley  
Shiso – beefsteak plant/green perilla, part of the mint family

**Notes:**

Lamiaceae – is the Latin name for the mint family (as mentioned in the story) and also includes members of the deadnettle family (which I personally know nothing about). Information about this plant family (specifically for the beefsteak plant) was pulled from Wikipedia

Ron &amp; Hermione – for those of you who wish to scream foul about me not mentioning Ron abandoning Harry or turning his back on him, please keep in mind that this is a first year Ron we are dealing with. Harry didn't experience any of Ron's little fits that happened in books two through seven; so to Harry, Ron's sudden silence cuts rather deeply. The same can apply to any incidents of Hermione's 'knowing better than everyone else' moments at any point after the first year (the Firebolt incident comes to mind). And no, my intent in this chapter was NOT to bash either Ron or Hermione; I only wanted Harry to acknowledge their flaws.

Recipe for Inui Juice – while I pulled the initial list of ingredients for Inui's Super Deluxe Juice from the internet, I would not recommend actually using it to make Inui juice as I have no idea just how digestible/palatable it is. Nor do I actually recommend adding the alternative ingredients that I listed (though they are consumable). Both the original ingredients and my suggestions were just intended to enhance this story and added for comedic relief since I can well imagine Harry helping Inui to make his various juices far, far worse thanks to his year at Hogwarts (herbology and potions lessons specifically).

* * *

**AN:** _And there we have the obligatory Inui Juice Torture Scene. I'm sure it's been overdone to have Harry (or another wizard insert) to like/not react to Inui's Juice but that is only logical since they drink things that must taste FAR worse. They have CANDY with flavors like VOMIT, EAR WAX, and BOOGER, for crying out loud! And yep, I chose to have Harry offer suggestions for improvements. However, he will not take to making his own versions of Inui Juice like a few other authors have in their stories. _

_Anyway, we see further proof that Harry is starting to loosen up a bit and letting his Marauder Heritage shine through just a bit. He'll still have a few angsty and panicky moments in future chapters but for the most part he'll continue to open up and grow as a character. The next chapter, I believe, has Harry actually getting a chance to smack a ball around a bit and another look into the methods that Master Watanabe is going to use to continue his efforts in helping Harry heal. At least, that's what I think the next chapter is; I'd look but I don't want to flip between two pages right now since my mouse still doesn't like the left clicky button. _

_Moving on, chapter 15 will be up tomorrow evening and the next update on this fic after that will take place at some point AFTER I finish posting all of the edits for my other WIPs. Once I know when that will be, I will post the information on my author's page where I have the long-standing list of my WIPs listed. My next scheduled update, my popular demand, will be for Magic Online and that will take place this next weekend. ~ Jenn_


	15. Training Woes

**Disclaimer:** _I used to write out a very specific disclaimer explaining exactly what it is I don't own but I find myself not really interested in doing so as it is very tedious. Suffice it to say I own nothing that was created by anyone else and I am making no money whatsoever from the writing of this FanFiction._

**Warnings:** _Mild to moderate violence, character death, foul language, alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon from both worlds goodbye), angst, drama, and who knows what else. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

Chapter Fifteen: Training Woes

_Thursday, May 27, 1993, Early Evening  
Abandoned Building not far from Seigaku  
Tokyo, Japan_

Harry warily accepted the nylon band that Inui handed to him; the wizard uncertain of how the teen planned to train him to snap out of his Tunnel-Zone State (the name Inui gave to Harry's single-minded focus when chasing after a ball) on command. Harry mostly liked Inui, the older teen had gone out of his way to help Harry a number of times, but the guy could be rather sadistic when the mood struck him.

"That is a modified shock-collar originally designed for small dogs weighing less than ten pounds," Inui stated and Harry's visible eye grew wide as he immediately realized what Inui had in mind for his training.

Harry scrambled for his whiteboard a moment later in order to demand; _are you crazy!? You're going to shock me!?_

"The voltage is equivalent to that of a nine-volt battery; the amount of pain you will feel from such a low voltage is negligible. The goal here is for you to recognize the mild shock as a signal to refocus on the world around you."

_Why can't you use a whistle or bell or some other auditory signal? Why a shock collar?_

"A sound based signal would be far too easy for an opponent to learn and use against you during a match. It is far better to use a non-verbal signal to bring you out of your Zone quickly and on command."

Harry wrinkled his nose in distaste; he couldn't deny the truth in that statement. That didn't mean that he wanted to be repeatedly shocked; that would be worse than Master Watanabe smacking him with the harisen.

_This is in revenge for me thwacking you with my fan on accident several times this week, isn't it?_

"No, this is because we needed some way to break you out of your Tunnel-Zone State in order to correct any mistakes that you are making or in order to have you work on something different. Go ahead on put the collar around either one of your ankles; wearing it around your wrist could potentially make you drop your racquet."

_I didn't sign up for tennis to get shock therapy._

"I thoroughly tested the collar on myself before I determined it safe to use for your training," Inui offered instead of replying to Harry's comment. "The shock also lasts for less than a second; it is just a quick jolt that is meant to grab your attention; not cause you harm or pain."

That revelation drew Harry up short. He had not expected Inui to test the collar on himself to make certain it would not cause undue harm. The pre-teen then sighed and stared down at the nylon collar in his hand before he reluctantly knelt down to strap it onto his left ankle. He figured he could at least try it once since Inui went through the trouble of testing the collar. Not to mention the fact that he was the one who'd written up all of the various training programs he'd been using (bar the one that Healer Kyomoto had given to him).

"I'm going to test it once so you will know what to expect before we start your actual training," Inui stated as he pushed the little button on the small remote he held in his hand.

Harry jumped when he felt the slight sting of electricity biting into the side of his ankle; the suddenness of the shock surprising him. He then frowned at his ankle for a moment as he mentally compared the brief jolt to being hit with a weak Stinging Hex; just a little annoying. It would be more than enough to grab his attention though; which is what Inui had been aiming for in the first place.

"You're goal, is to bounce the tennis ball off the wall as many times in a row as you can without missing the ball," Inui instructed a moment later. "You will also need to aim the ball to land within the rectangular zone that I marked off with red tape from behind the red line I marked off on the ground. As your aim improves, the size of the rectangle will grow progressively smaller to help you refine your control of the ball. Once you can make the ball consistently hit the same exact spot a minimum of twenty-five times in a row, I will remove the tape completely. For the first half an hour, I will only interrupt you with a shock to make corrections to your form."

Harry nodded in understanding as he eyed the wall and noted exactly where the target zone fell. He then counted the number of paces between the wall and the line in order to get a feel for the distance between the two; determining that it was roughly the same distance as the half-court line was from the net on an actual tennis court. Inui then gave a short demonstration before he passed the tennis ball over to Harry (who had traded his whiteboard for his racquet), pulled out his stop watch and a manual counter, and settled himself off to the side where he could watch.

Harry bounced the ball in his left hand a couple of times as he stepped up to the line and eyed the wall. He then hefted his racquet in his right hand and gave a few practice swings as he silently reminded himself that the goal was to hit the ball and not catch it. Once he was ready, he bounced the ball on the ground before he smacked it at the wall. He Zoned the rest of the world out the moment his racquet had made contact with the ball and his eye stayed locked on the ball as he analyzed its forward and return path.

He would easily return the ball after it struck the wall the first time but it would hit the wall above the target zone and a brief jolt to his ankle startled him out of his Zone enough that he caught the ball instead of whacking it a second time. The wizard would then turn to face Inui in confusion.

"The angle of your racquet is off by half a centimeter and that caused the ball to strike the wall outside of the target area; adjust your grip and start again."

Harry hesitantly nodded as he glanced down at the racquet in his hand and adjusted it as instructed. He then took another couple of practice swings before he settled back into his stance and started over. It would take Harry another five tries before he managed to hit the ball into the target zone and each time he made a mistake, Inui would shock him to get his attention and correct his grip or his form. By the time the first half an hour of training passed, Harry could hit the ball into the target zone seven times out of ten.

It was at that point that the real training started.

Inui would let Harry settle into his Zone and get a good rhythm going before he would suddenly set off the shock collar on Harry's ankle in order to snap him out of his Tunnel-Zone State. It was annoying. Worse than Master Watanabe whacking him with his harisen for mistakes made during meditation practice. The shock training was rather effective though; since Harry couldn't ignore the harmless zap now that he had grown to expect advice or instructions the moment he felt the jolt.

After the second half hour of training, Inui had Harry switch the collar to his other ankle in order to avoid doing any lasting damage to the nerves on his left ankle. He would then start his training all over again as he spent a half an hour adjusting his grip and form while using his left arm this time and then another half an hour of Zone training (again with his left arm). At the end of the second hour of training, Harry was drenched in sweat and he could consistently hit five out of ten balls into the target zone with his left hand.

"That's good enough for today; we can come here again after practice tomorrow to work on it some more," Inui announced at that point.

Harry shook his head no as he exchanged his racquet out for his whiteboard to state; _I can't stay after practice tomorrow._

"We could continue after practice on Sat…"

_No, I'll be gone all weekend,_ Harry countered after he'd interrupted Inui with another head shake. _Weekend training is out of the question for at least the next year._

"What do you mean? What about practice?"

_I've been excused from all Saturday practices by Coach Ryuzaki._

"Why?" Inui asked with a slight frown.

_I'll be meeting with the man who took over my counseling sessions,_ Harry hedged after a slight hesitation in which he sought for a way to explain Master Watanabe without revealing that he was a wizard _and_ Harry's shishou. _He doesn't have time to meet with me during the week because of the travel time involved, so he arranged to work with me on things during the weekends instead._

"And you'll be seeing him every weekend for the next year?"

_Something like that; though he did promise to give me those weekends of the tournament matches off so I can attend the tournaments with the rest of the club._

"Are your new weekend sessions the reason why you are not longer meeting with the school's guidance counselor?"

_Part of the reason; mostly it's just because Natsume-san isn't exactly capable of helping me deal with my past. I'll see Natsume-san at the end of every month to deal with school related problems though._

"Natsume Takashi is a licensed psychologist and fully qualified to handle all types of mental issues," Inui stated as he reached up to push his glasses back into place. "The only thing that Natsume-san is incapable of doing is prescribing the various types of medication used to treat mental and emotional disorders since he does not have a Doctorate Degree in Psychology. Are you implying that you are now being seen by a psychiatrist? And that the medication you are currently taking was prescribed by said psychiatrist?"

_No, I'm not seeing a shrink now. At least, I don't think Watanabe-shishou is a shrink; he's more of a specialist that uses alternative methods to help me deal with what happened. And no, I'm not taking any meds to keep me from going loony._

"Alternative methods…? Inui prompted with an arched eyebrow.

_He taught me the ways of the slapping fan_, Harry scribbled out with a smirk while fighting the blush that threatened to paint his face red as he recalled the many times Master Watanabe slapped him with a harisen.

"He smacked you with one, didn't he?"

Harry pouted at how easily Inui deduced that and reluctantly nodded in confirmation.

Inui chuckled a bit before he asked, "Since weekends are out, do you think you'd be able to meet with me during lunch every day and after practice two days a week to train? You will also be able to practice on your own but I won't have time to supervise you during club practices since I have to focus on helping the Regulars get ready for the upcoming Prefecturals."

Harry thought about it for a few seconds before he nodded in agreement. He wouldn't have any problems doing a little extra training here and there since it had been rather fun to smack the ball about. He wasn't sure how he felt about continuing the shock training but he couldn't deny that it had worked quite well to get his attention.

The two of them then spent a few minutes gathering up their things (with Harry returning the shock collar to Inui for safe keeping) before they parted ways and went home. Harry would run into Ryoma halfway back to the Echizens; apparently he'd hung out with Momoshiro for most of the evening. The one-eyed pre-teen suspected that Ryoma just hadn't wanted to show up without him again since Mrs. Echizen had been a little upset that he'd let Harry wander off alone with a senior on Monday night.

After a late supper, Harry took an hour long soak (his daily Loadstone treatment) before he wandered off to bed. Friday morning would see him gathering up his school things and a couple changes of clothes for his weekend with Master Watanabe as he'd be leaving straight from school after practice. He also grabbed the small bag holding the collection of gifts he'd purchased for Kashiwagi (a variety of novelty buttons, an assortment of brightly color threads in varying thicknesses, several packs of rare flower seeds, and several reusable windowsill green houses to plant said seeds in).

Once he had everything, he hoofed it downstairs and set his bags beside the door before slipping outside to run through his now usual morning exercises. A quick shower and a quicker breakfast once he'd finished his morning calisthenics would see him joining Ryoma at the front door to claim their shoes and things. The two of them would hurry out the door a few seconds later and point their feet towards the school. Momoshiro joined them halfway there; the junior hopping off his bike to walk alongside of them as he jabbered on about something or other that Harry only half paid attention to.

The rest of the day passed by far too quickly for the young wizard and by the time the afternoon practice was over, his stomach was all in knots due to his worries about what he could expect to face that weekend. He took his time changing back into his uniform after he'd finished helping put away the balls for the day in order to give the rest of the club time to change and leave so he could slip off to an out of the way spot in order to use the portkey. The hardest three to ditch were Inui, Momoshiro, and Ryoma but Harry managed to convince them that they don't need to wait for him.

Harry then slipped back behind the ball shed and removed the portkey pendant from beneath his jacket and shirt so he could grab the right hand toad. A short, sharp whistle followed immediately by a click of the tongue soon had a hook latching onto his stomach as it pulled him off his feet and into the middle of what felt like a hurricane. He never did notice the pair of surprised blue eyes that caught sight of him vanishing into thin air.

A seeming eternity later, Harry's feet slammed back into solid ground once more before he promptly ended up in a tangle of bags and limbs as the portkey deposited him in the receiving room of the apprentice cabin that had been assigned to him. Harry would just lay there in the middle of the room for several minutes while he waited for his stomach to cease trying to crawl out of his mouth. The knowledge that he was going to have to travel the same way in order to get back to the Echizens in two nights almost made him lose his lunch.

"Welcome back, child; I trust you arrived in one piece?" Master Watanabe greeted and inquired as he stepped into cabin right about the time that Harry was just sitting up. Harry gave him a dirty look that set the wizard to chuckling. "I take it that was your first experience traveling by portkey, then? It will take a few times but eventually you will build up a tolerance for the volatile magics involved in moving you from point a to point b and you will, in time, learn to keep your feet under you when you land."

Harry wrinkled his nose in distaste before he climbed to his feet and gathered up his scattered things. He then wrote out a quick greeting for his master before he ducked into his bedroom to put away his things. When he passed through the receiving room on his way to the kitchen, he was half surprised and half wary when he noticed that Master Watanabe was still there. He had not expected the old wizard to stick around after he'd confirmed his arrival and wondered what it would mean for him that the man had stuck around.

"Come, child; my wife has requested your presence for our evening meal," Master Watanabe stated the moment he saw Harry reenter the room. "She was most put out with me over the fact that I did not bring you to meet her last week. Best go fetch your potions so you can take your next dose before the meal. Oh, and leave your whiteboard; from this point on, whenever you are here, you are restricted to only using sign language to communicate."

Harry felt a surge of curiosity as he obediently followed Master Watanabe out of the cabin and across the grounds towards the main house after grabbing his potions as instructed. He was also very nervous as he had no idea what to expect from his master's wife. The only adult witches he'd really spent any time around had been those on staff at Hogwarts and the two he'd spent the most time around had been Pomfrey and McGonagall. Both women had been stern and strict (though McGonagall had been the worst out of the two).

They had also betrayed his trust in authority figures; Pomfrey because she potentially lied about his magic being stripped from him and McGonagall because she had not listened to Harry once whenever he'd brought a problem to her despite the fact that she was supposed to be his head of house.

And Harry had a harder time trusting adult women in general because Petunia and Marjorie 'Marge' Dursley (the latter Vernon's older sister) had not exactly been stellar examples of female adults. He still didn't quite trust Mrs. Echizen but he had grown to tolerate her hugs (which she still bestowed upon him occasionally) and grown somewhat fond of her personally. Echizen Rinko was everything that Harry thought a proper mother should be; warm and caring most of the time, stern when necessary, and above all kind with her words and actions.

Whenever Harry thought of his mother now, he pictured her with Mrs. Echizen's personality. He could even imagine his mother taking in the child of a mostly forgotten friend and making that child feel welcomed in her home; much like Mrs. Echizen had done for Harry. Part of Harry wished that his mother had been Mrs. Echizen's old friend instead of Petunia and that she'd come in to rescue him from his aunt when he'd still been a toddler. He was at least thankful that she'd taken him in now and put up with the trouble that seemed to follow him around no matter where he went.

In no time at all, Master Watanabe was leading Harry through the door of the main house and both of them slipped off their shoes before moving deeper into the house. There was no grand tour this time (something Harry was half thankful for) as Master Watanabe led Harry straight through the house to a small, informal dining room that was situated directly beside the kitchen. In the center of the room was a low Japanese style table set for three.

The two of them had barely set foot in the room before a stately older woman dressed in a formal kimono decorated with toads and lily pads stepped into the room. There were two things that Harry noticed right away about the woman; first, she didn't look any where near as old as Master Watanabe and second, the dark tint of her skin combined with her softer Asian features indicated a mixed heritage. The moment her eyes found Harry, a slight frown drew the corners of her lips down for a brief moment as she critically eyed him.

"I am Watanabe Ashanti, Evans-kun," the woman stated once she'd finished her inspection. "And you are younger than I expected you to be based upon my husband's addled descriptions of you; I half expected you to be a burly teenager on the cusp of adulthood."

Harry wasn't certain if he should be offended or not so he just settled on bowing politely in response to her introduction and ignoring the rest. The woman blinked at him in surprise before she let out an inelegant snort and gestured towards the low, square table where food had appeared at some point after Harry had first entered the room.

"Come sit down and eat before the food goes cold," Lady Watanabe instructed at the same time.

Harry hesitantly edged forward as the couple migrated towards seats on opposite sides of the table; placing one of them on each side of him once he'd sat down. After seating himself, Harry dug a trio of potion vials from his pocket (holding a nutrient potion, a digestive aide draught, and a general all-purpose healing potion). Lady Watanabe's eyes narrowed the moment she saw the vials but she said nothing as Harry downed them one right after another before returning the empty vials to his pocket. Harry then offered up his gratitude for the meal with a mouthed 'itadakimasu' before he dug into the food.

Conversation through the meal was rather stilted on Harry's side since he was required him to answer in sign language and since he hadn't really learned many of the more complex signs that meant spelling everything out one letter at a time. They had several reasons for making him do so despite his obvious struggles; first, it tested him on how well he'd memorized the letters. Second, it allowed him to practice forming the various letters and exercise the muscles in his hand to increase his finger speed and dexterity. Third, it forced him to split his focus between thinking, replying, and eating at the same time (which also improved his multitasking skills).

Fourth, it actually allowed both adults to 'see' his half of the conversation at the same time instead of requiring him to flash his written answers at them separately. Fifth, it meant that the sharp scent of the dry erase markers would not over power the scent of the food. And most importantly (in Lady Watanabe's mind), it was meant to be an incentive for Harry to learn the more complex signs so that he wouldn't always be constantly spelling things out.

To Harry, it was just tiring and by the time the meal was over, Harry's hands and head were aching from the strain. That was on top of the discomfort he felt over the borderline invasive questions that Lady Watanabe had asked him. By the time he was sent off to bed, Harry was certain that the woman was a rough mixture between Hermione, Pomfrey, and McGonagall; forceful, inquisitive, and stern. She wasn't mean or cruel but Harry knew he didn't want to cross her and get her mad at him.

Once he reached his cabin, Harry downed the last dose of potion he'd need to take for the night and filled up the tub with water and a measure of crystals so he could soak for an hour. After that hour was up, he let out the water, used the toilet, took a warm shower to rinse off the residue left behind, and dressed in his pajamas. He then unrolled the futon, crawled into bed, curled up beneath the covers, and promptly slipped off to sleep.

Harry was up bright and early the next morning and he set about his now usual morning routine. After he finished his exercises and got dressed for the day, he spent around half an hour setting up the windowsill greenhouses he'd brought with him and planted a few of each type of seed in the three plastic contraptions. He then placed them in the bedroom window so they would get plenty of light throughout the day. By the time he'd finished setting that up, Kashiwagi had delivered his breakfast and Harry grabbed a spool of heavy-duty green thread to place on the offering plate before he sat down to eat.

Master Watanabe turned up right about the time Harry was rinsing off his dishes and placing them in the sink.

"I am glad to see that you have not tarried in bed this morning, child," Master Watanabe declared as Harry slipped on his shoes and followed him outside. "We have much to do this weekend and very little time for laziness. Come, the missus is waiting for us in her storeroom so you can choose a pensieve."

_What do you mean choose a pensieve?_ Harry asked one painstaking letter at a time as he tried to sign and walk at the same time.

"Do you recall what a pensieve is used for, my little apprentice?"

_Hai, you said it was used to watch memories._

"Correct; it can also be used to store memories but that is not a very secure method of keeping them private. Now, why do you think I would have you choose a pensieve?"

_To watch memories?_

"Yes, that is the gist of what you will be doing. More specifically, we will be watching your memories."

_Why aren't we going to use the pensieve that you let Healer Kyomoto use?_

"There are two reasons; one, as my apprentice you will be taught Mind Magics and you will need a pensieve to help you learn some of the more advanced forms. And two, as a magical artifact, a pensieve will absorb minute amounts of magic from the memories that are placed inside of it and the more magic it receives from a single person, the more attuned the device will become to that person. Since we will be viewing a considerable amount of your memories in order to help you come to terms with your past, it will become attuned to you fairly quickly."

"An attuned pensieve will allow the user to fully utilize the magics of the device and in turn allows the device to filter out, highlight, or refine the emotions in each memory. Attuning more than one magical signatures to one pensieve will degrade the magic of the device over time and cause it to eventually start distorting the memories within. An example would be the pensieve enhancing or twisting the emotions of the pensieve to skew the memory inside; painting that memory as either better or worse than it actually was and therefore turning the memory inaccurate and unreliable."

"So, since the pensieve I carry on me is one of a dozen that are attuned to me personally, it would be inadvisable for me to allow it to become attuned to you as well. Now, once a pensieve is attuned to one person's magic, that doesn't mean that other people can't use it; you just have to limit how many times the same person uses it to prevent it from growing attuned to any of them. One of the reasons why I have so many pensieves is so that I can rotate which pensieve I am using to prevent it from becoming attuned to another."

"Additionally, the magic absorbed from the memories inside of an unused pensieve will dissipate over time unless the device is attuned to that specific magic. That allows me to share my pensieves with others without any risk of the pensieve becoming useless due to far too many magics mixing together," Master Watanabe explained as he led Harry to a small storeroom. "Did you have any other questions about pensieves?"

_What about the magic of the person who made the pensieve? Does that affect them too?_

"It would appear that your new apprentice has an active brain between his ears," Lady Watanabe drawled in obvious amusement as she caught sight of Harry's questions while he was walking into the storeroom.

Harry didn't know whether or not he should take offense to that statement. It was kind of annoying to have his intelligence questioned (even in such a round about way) but at the same time it was something he was used to. Most people thought him to be rather dim because his grades were always below average. That hadn't been because he was stupid though; no, that had been a form of self preservation growing up with the Dursleys. Showing up Dudley in class would have only gotten him in trouble and Harry learned early on that life was easier for him if his aunt and uncle could brag about Dudley being better in everything.

That behavior had automatically transferred over to Hogwarts so that he wouldn't upset Ron (due to his rather large inferiority complex that Harry had subconsciously recognized within a week of classes) or Hermione (whose competitive nature made her dislike anyone who outshined her academically). He had been so afraid of losing the only friends he'd made to consider actually letting his intelligence shine through all of the time. He liked being comfortable and being comfortable was far easier to achieve when people overlooked you because you didn't stand out at all.

Harry's attention was brought back to the elderly couple a moment later when Lady Watanabe answered his earlier questions regarding pensieves.

"The answer to your question is yes; the magic of the creator does affect each artifact that they create because it is their magic that breathes the 'life' into the artifact. However, the magic used to create a pensieve will not attune itself to a newly created pensieve since that aspect of the device lies in the solution that is poured into the pensieve to activate the final enchantments on the pensieves. To avoid attuning each of the devices I create to my magic, I never brew the solution used inside of the pensieves and I never sell a pensieve that is less than ten years old; which allows the magic used to create the device to fade in strength."

_Does that mean the purchaser brews the solution? What happens if they don't know how to brew the potion? Or if they are terrible at making potions?_ Harry inquired as recalled the number of times a student had melted or blown up a cauldron during Potions class.

"We have a small brewing room dedicated to the creation of those potions that are used in or on the various devices that I create," Lady Watanabe answered with a small smile of satisfaction that said his questions actually pleased her. "And while I am not a Potions Master, I am fully qualified to brew those potions necessary to my craft and can guide others through the steps of making those same potions when the need arises; such as creating the memory stabilization potion for a newly purchased pensieve."

_Thank you for explaining, Watanabe-dono,_ Harry replied with a small bow of respect; he truly appreciated the fact that she had both taken the time to explain and had done so without making Harry feel as if he was two inches tall and dumber than a rock for not already knowing.

"You're welcome, Evans-kun. Did you have any other questions? No? Then feel free to browse through the pensieves that are on display over on the right wall until you find one that catches your eye."

Harry hesitated for a split second before he headed for the wall of shelves holding hundreds of clay and porcelain pensieves that had been decorated with dozens of different themes and colors. He spent a few minutes inspecting the ones decorated with toads before he moved on to ones that had birds on them until he found one with an owl. The reminder of his absent friend made him flinch and he turned away from that group. He would then spend a few minutes browsing through the ones with plant based themes (lingering over one with lilies on it) before he wandered on.

After nearly a half an hour of browsing, Harry found himself on his knees pulling out a dusty pensieve from the bottom shelf. Wiping off the dust, Harry absently noticed that the large bowl was made from porcelain and rather delicate in appearance. The pensieve was mostly white with a ring of grass green around the bottom inch of the base. Rising up out of the 'grass' were several realistic Japanese maple trees; their leaves a riot of reds and oranges with less than a dozen that were green. Centered on one side of the bowl, on what would be considered the face of the device, were the silhouettes of an antlered stag and a doe standing over a newborn fawn.

Harry couldn't say what had drawn him to that particular pensieve but from the moment he'd caught a glimpse of it buried on the bottom shelf half behind two smaller pensieves, it had captured his interest.

Once he'd cleaned the worst of the dust off, Harry could make out dozens of knife thin symbols cut into the bowl and filled in with what he thought might be very fine silver wire. It was, to put it simply, a work of art. He suspected that it might also be worth a small fortune and it was with great reluctance that he made to put the pensieve back on the shelf where he'd got it from.

"What have you got there, child; did you finally find something that caught your eye?" Master Watanabe inquired as he reached out to snag the pensieve out of Harry's hands before he could place it back on the shelf. The wizard then let out an impressed whistle as he cleaned the porcelain bowl up the rest of the way with a flick of his wand. "You have very good taste, little apprentice of mine."

"Oh…? Which one did he pick?" Lady Watanabe inquired as she joined them and took the pensieve from her husband's hands so she could inspect the design. "Huh, I didn't think I still had this old thing. Large pensieves used to be the 'in' thing for the nobility but these days few people are interested in the larger pensieves because they tend to be more difficult to tote around. They are also more expensive since they require heavier rune work to make up for the inherent weaknesses in such a large piece."

_I only wanted to clear the dust off so I could see the design… I don't really need anything fancy but you don't have any plain pensieves that I could see…_

"Nonsense, Evans-kun; anyone with half a brain could see that you were drawn to the pensieve and that it suits you rather well," Lady Watanabe countered with a wave of her hand as she carried the pensieve towards the back of the room where a door led deeper into the building.

"The autumn coloration of the leaves represent transition or change while the Japanese maple represents great blessings and peaceful retreats. Separately, the stag represents nobility, confidence, and protection; the doe symbolizes grace, humility, and spirituality; and the fawn stands for growth, creativity, and innocence. Collectively, a family of deer represents love, life, and abundance. Deer are also considered to be the messengers of the gods in several cultures. The color green on the bottom represents new or eternal life and youthfulness while the color white represents purity and peace as well as death."

Lady Watanabe paused once she finished explaining the symbolism of the decorations on the pensieve before she instructed, "Now come, Evans-kun; you need to prepare the memory stabilization potion for your pensieve."

Harry would spend the next hour brewing the required potion under the guidance of Lady Watanabe. It was a rather enlightening lesson free from all anxiety as while Lady Watanabe was strict, she was also patient and very willing to explain each step of the potion. Knowing why it was important to prepare ingredients in a certain way or add them to the potion in a certain order helped him to know what to expect during each step. The fact that she did not insult him, his intelligence, or his father with every other breath also helped.

Once the potion was finished, it needed to sit for twenty-four hours before it could be poured into the pensieve. It was also supposed to be stirred with his wand once it was placed in the pensive but because his wand had been snapped, he was going to have to improvise and stir it with the tip side of his broken wand while taking care not to touch the potion with his fingers or with the bits of phoenix feather that were poking out of the broken end.

That revelation actually saw Lady Watanabe fetching what she called a throwaway pensieve (made from heavy clay, lacking any designs outside of the carved runes, and used strictly for testing purposes) that would be substituted in place of the pensieve he'd picked out to test whether or not his broken wand would be able to act as a catalyst to 'activate' the stabilization potion. It also meant that Harry had to brew a second batch of Memory Stabilization Solution for the second pensieve.

While the two batches of potion 'rested', Master Watanabe took Harry back to his cabin and began the long, drawn out process of withdrawing copies of those memories associated with specific trigger words. The trigger words he used were based upon the twenty-one negative emotions as found in the Well of Healing in a addition to several positive emotions and key words meant to call up associated memories (such as Voldemort, magic, punishment, and friends). The process would take most of the day with only one break for lunch and by the time they were finished, Master Watanabe had filled over a hundred pint sized vials with Harry's memories.

And that was the easy part. The hard part would be sorting through those memories one at a time so that Harry could both deal with the memories and sort them into individual vials. A copy of each individual memory would then be bottled in a small crystal decanter, labeled with the date and main subject of the memory, and placed in a storage cupboard that would be warded against theft. Duplicate memories (since each memory is naturally linked to multiple emotions or key words) would be disposed of when found to reduce confusion.

The reason for keeping a copy of each memory was to allow Harry to easily access those memories without needing to wait until his core stabilized or until he purchased a replacement wand. It also made it easier to review those memories that he had problems facing (such as the night he'd lost his right eye and voice). Additionally, it would allow Master Watanabe to review Harry's previous lessons in the different branches of magic in order to determine exactly where he stood education wise without needing to wait until his core stabilized. And it would give him an idea of which areas he would need to focus on when it came to Harry's mental and emotional health.

After the final memory had been pulled for the day, Master Watanabe would take Harry down to soak in the hot spring for a bit where he was taught several complex signs for simple concepts (such as mother, father, parents, thank you, your welcome, I'm sorry, and other similar signs). Harry would then be sent off to eat supper and relax for the rest of the evening so his brain could rest from the exhausting process of copying so many memories. Harry would spend an hour practicing tennis out behind his cabin (hitting the ball against the back wall) after he'd used a bit of mud to mark out a target area.

Once it got too dark to see, Harry retreated into the cabin and just practiced his swings while adjusting his grip to modify the angle of the racquet face. He would then soak in the bathtub for an hour, take a quick shower, put out yet another offering for the brownie that was cooking his meals, and crawl into bed for the night.

Sunday would see Harry activating the throwaway pensieve once the potion was deemed ready. He'd then leave Lady Watanabe to test the device using a copy of one of his more harmless memories (of his first Quidditch practice) while he spent the rest of the morning and all afternoon meditating.

All too soon, Harry was being sent back to the Echizens via portkey where he'd end up in a tangle of limbs and bags a second time in the secured alley that was just a five minute's walk from their house.

* * *

**Translations:** Japanese to English

Hai – yes  
Itadakimasu – an expression of gratitude usually offered before one eats (similar to saying bon appétit)

**Notes:**

Ashanti – is a name of African origin that means aggressive/warlike from what I could find on-line.

* * *

**AN:** _Now, before any of you start ranting that I am being cruel to Harry by giving him 'shock treatment' the voltage is not strong enough to cause true pain and can be compared to the shock therapy used in rehabilitation; something I, myself, experienced over a decade ago when I had surgery on my knee. The collar used in the story only gives a strong enough 'bite' to catch Harry's attention and snap him out of his tunnel zone state. _

_Anyway, this will be the last chapter for a while as I need to move onto the next story on my update schedule. As I mentioned in the previous chapter, future updates for this story will be announced on my author's page as soon as I finish getting all of my current stories polished up a bit and updated with a few chapters. In the mean time, I hope you enjoyed the recent chapters. _

_And the last note I will make before I leave is to thank everyone for the wonderful reviews! Even if I didn't respond to your review, it was still read and appreciated (unless it was a flame, and in that case it was sent to keep my babies warm during the storm we have coming through right now). ~ Jenn_


	16. Fellow Wizard

**Disclaimer:** _I used to write out a very specific disclaimer explaining exactly what it is I don't own but I find myself not really interested in doing so as it is very tedious. Suffice it to say I own nothing that was created by anyone else and I am making no money whatsoever from the writing of this FanFiction._

**Warnings:** _Mild to moderate violence, character death, foul language, alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon from both worlds goodbye), angst, drama, and who knows what else. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

Chapter Sixteen: Fellow Wizard

_Tuesday, June 08, 1993, Late Afternoon  
Seishun Gakuen, Tokyo, Japan_

After he had returned from his second trip to the Watanabe Pottery Ranch and Creature Reserve (the official name of his master's home according to Lady Watanabe who had mentioned it in passing over the weekend), Harry had a busy week ahead of him.

Monday saw him spending lunch with Inui, an hour in the afternoon with Mr. Natsume (for his end of month review), and another two hours with Inui once the afternoon tennis practice was over. Tuesday had him spending the lunch with Inui again and then his afternoon was slightly more hectic as the moment afternoon practice was over, he portkeyed to the magical clinic for his follow up appointment with Healer Kyomoto; Master Watanabe meeting him there. He would have his prescription for the nutritional potion and the digestive aide extended for another week while the general healing potion was deemed no longer necessary.

Wednesday gave Harry a bit of a break as he only spent lunch working with Inui and an hour after school on the shock training since Inui had other plans that night. Thursday was an agonizing day as Harry was required to take several make up tests now that he'd finally caught back up with his classwork. Inui then complained about him missing lunch to take one of said tests before working him for two hours again that evening to make up for the missed session. The guy was a slave driver at times.

Friday would play out almost exactly the same as the week before; right down to Harry ending up in a pile on the floor with his things at the end of the portkey ride back up to the Ranch and him eating supper in the main house. The rest of the weekend had been spent sorting through his more pleasant memories with Master Watanabe's help after Lady Watanabe had deemed the throwaway pensieve usable – though she refused to let him set up the porcelain pensive until he had purchased a replacement wand.

Harry would return to the Echizens buoyed by happy memories on Sunday night and exhausted from sorting and viewing close to two hundred individual memories. His poor hand felt like it might fall off from all of the labels he'd been required to write out by hand using a quill; which he'd been out of practice using and therefore had required a couple of hours of writing practice until his penmanship had grown somewhat legible. Apparently, calligraphy was considered a necessary skill for all magicals above and beyond its decorative uses and was not just an archaic tradition designed to avoid the modernization of the wizarding world (which is what most muggleborns back in England had believed).

Though why such a skill was considered so important had not yet been explained to Harry.

The week after his third trip to the Watanabe Ranch had started out on a relaxed note until Harry had earned the ire of the rest of the Tennis Club when Inui finally introduced the new and improved recipe for his Super Deluxe Vegetable Juice. The only reason he hadn't introduced it earlier was because the teen had wanted to run a series of tests on the concoction and compare the results of those tests to the results of the tests he'd done on previous recipes. The only negative point against the newest recipe was the fact that it tasted rather terrible due to the combination of nettles and willow bark tea.

Needless to say, the other club members were not pleased to find out that the taste had grown worse but that they could no longer use the juice as an excuse to take an extra-long break. Harry's modifications had actually reduced the 'food poisoning' that most drinkers experienced when drinking the older recipes. It had also successfully helped reduce the aches associated with training; meaning that the drinker was rejuvenated within five minutes of drinking the improved version of Inui's Super Deluxe Vegetable Juice.

Harry had broken one of his paper fans defending himself from those who were upset about the improvements. He ended up with more than a few noogies and a couple of accidental bruises out of the deal but on the whole, he'd just laughed and called them all babies. They would quickly stop rough-housing when Harry threatened to give Inui a list of positively vile tasting ingredients to improve the taste further if they didn't let him go. Harry was still smiling when it was over though; his good mood from the weekend carrying him through the physical contact and helping him avoid having a panic attack.

And so far Tuesday had been relatively calm with the only change in his training routine being the inclusion of his wrist and ankles weights now that he was no longer taking any prescription potions outside of the ongoing treatment to remove the Loadstone fragments in his body; which had been significantly reduced in both size and number already.

Harry let out a silent sigh of relief as he stretched out his kinked muscles while cracking his spine multiple times in the same move. It had been an exhausting afternoon now that he'd finally been allowed to start using his training weights again. That was on top of the grueling training that Inui had put him through during lunch. He was really looking forward to heading back to the Echizens so he could soak in the tub for an hour to ease the lingering soreness in his muscles.

The one-eyed wizard let out another sigh when he glanced towards the gate of the courts and eyed the distance he would need to traverse in order to get to the club room and change his clothes. He was sorely tempted to sleep on the courts but he suspected that Coach Ryuzaki would get upset with him if he even thought about trying to do that. After coming to the conclusion that he'd rather not upset the woman so close to the start of the Prefectural Matches (when she was less likely to tolerate childish behavior), Harry wearily hauled himself up off the ground and collected his things before he shuffled across the courts.

"You look like you're half asleep, Evans," Momoshiro lightly teased as he fell into step beside Harry.

"That's because he is half asleep," Ryoma pointed out as he joined the two of them.

Harry half considered whacking both of them with the harisen that he still carried around in his tennis bag before he decided it was just too much effort at the moment. He did, at least, give them a mildly dirty look that let them know just what he thought of their comments. Of course, said look only earned him a round of snickers. Harry was half tempted to ask Inui to add something 'special' (read disgusting) to the next batch of Inui Juice he made for the Regulars but figured the rest of the team hadn't yet earned his ire enough to torture them as well.

When he finally made it to the club room, he leaned against the wall for a couple of minutes while those who'd beat him back to the building first finished changing and left. Once he was certain that he wouldn't be stomped flat by the hulking junior and senior members of the club (towering giants, the lot of them!), Harry moved forward to change out of his gym clothes.

As he slipped on the familiar black jacket of his gakuran and fastened the buttons, Harry leaned his forehead against the shelving unit and closed his eyes. He would have gladly fallen asleep standing up if he wasn't worried that he might get locked inside of the club room or that someone would prank him while he slept. He still ended up dosing off for a couple of minutes.

"Is everything alright, Evans?" Oishi asked out of concern a few minutes later; his voice jolting Harry awake.

_I'm fine, just tired,_ Harry responded in sign language; something he was starting to do more often thanks to Master Watanabe forbidding him from writing down his responses on the weekends.

He was actually rather surprised to learn that quite a few of the other students at Seigaku knew bits and pieces of the American and British Sign Language. Only a handful of them were fluent enough to carry a conversation with the unspoken language but most of those that knew a bit at least knew the alphabets (which were fairly similar) and could catch Harry's responses if he signed them slowly enough. Oishi was one of the few in the Tennis Club that was fluent enough to converse as he'd incorporated parts of the sign language into his and Kikumaru's game signals since they had been playing doubles as a team for over two years now.

Oishi had even taken to teaching Harry a few signs he hadn't yet learned and recommended a couple of comprehensive dictionaries that provided photographic instructions on both versions of the silent language that Harry was learning. It was only once Harry started to actively use sign language on a daily basis that most of his peers finally clued into the fact that Harry couldn't speak. Most had just assumed he was standoffish or shy. In fact, a number of students forgave his earlier surliness once they realized he couldn't speak and that he was only just learning sign language.

Harry still mainly kept to himself though; aside from the time he spent with Ryoma, Inui, or the rest of the freshmen in the club during tennis practice. Of course, hanging out with Ryoma outside of practice often meant hanging out with Horio, Mizuno, Kato, Osakada, and Sakuno (Coach Ryuzaki's granddaughter). Momoshiro often hung out with their group as well bar the times when he was off training or hanging with his fellow juniors. The oddest thing was that Harry had grown used to spending time with the large group before he even realized he had done so; which hadn't been until after his first stay at the Watanabe Pottery Ranch and Creature Reserve.

"If you're certain," Oishi murmured in reply as he gave Harry a critical once over. "If you don't mind me asking; why are you so tired? It's rather unusual to see you so worn out after practice."

_Weights._

"Ah, say no more; I completely understand."

Harry opened his good eye to weakly glare at the teen in response to the amusement that had been clearly present in his voice during that comment. He then let out a silent snort as he imagined that he did look rather silly falling asleep against the wall of cubby holes where the club members stored their things. A glance down let him know that he'd also buttoned his jacket crookedly and he let out a silent huff as he fixed his jacket so he didn't look like an idiot.

"You'll get used to it, eventually," Oishi quipped as he finished changing and headed out. "Try to have a good evening, Evans."

Harry waved farewell to the senior as he reorganized his things and slung both his book bag and his single racket tennis bag over his left shoulder. He'd only get a few feet away before he realized that he'd forgotten to put on his shoes. At least no one else was there to see him that time since Oishi had been the last one in the room with him. Slipping on his shoes, Harry checked himself over one last time to make certain he had everything before he left the building. A quick glance around turned up Ryoma and Momoshiro waiting for him near the last court and Harry started that way at a slow shuffling trot that was actually slower than walking normally.

"Excuse me, Evans-kun; can you wait up for a moment? There's something I'd like to speak with you about," a voice called out as Harry passed the first set of fenced off courts and Harry stopped in his track and turned to see Fuji Syusuke (a member of the Regulars and a senior) trotting towards him. Fuji smiled in response to Harry's willingness to wait and once he caught up to the freshman he stated, "Arigatou, I had at first thought I'd missed you when I didn't see you leaving the club room with Echizen but Oishi just told me you were still changing when he headed home."

Harry blinked and tipped his head to one side as he wondered what the senior wanted to speak with him about. Fuji was amongst the few Regulars that Harry only ever interacted with on rare occasions (the others being Kaidou, Tezuka, and Kawamura). If he hadn't been so tired, Harry might have felt a bit more wary about the teen's sudden interest in him when said teen appeared to scan the immediate area looking for possible eavesdroppers.

"Oi, Evans! Hurry up! We're starving here!" Momoshiro bellowed before Fuji could say anything further.

Harry bit his lip in indecision for a moment before he turned and made a shooing motion at the two waiting for him a short ways away. He then gestured towards Fuji to indicate that he was a bit busy at the moment. The message was quickly understood and both of them waved good bye before they turned and headed for the bike racks to collect the junior's bike. Over the last two of weeks, Ryoma had been slowly giving Harry a bit more space and privacy as it became apparent that he was no longer at risk of getting cornered by bullies on his own.

It helped that those involved in the attack on him a few months back had been expelled from Seigaku (and sentenced to three thousand hours of community service) for their brutal attack on him. Harry hadn't seen hide or hair of the small gang since their sentencing (which Harry had been present for) just a few weeks after the attack. He had received formal apologies from the parents of those involved as well as from one of the juniors but other than that all six teens avoided Harry after they'd learned how severely they'd injured him.

After watching their backs disappearing for a moment, Harry swung back around to face Fuji while he waited for the teen to say what it was that he'd wanted from him.

"The reason I wished to speak with you was to warn you that you need to find a different place to portkey from when you are leaving directly from campus. The area you've been using behind the ball shed is far too open and in clear view of the windows from the upper stories of the nearest buildings. That's how I managed to catch you leaving the grounds at least three times over the last two weeks. I'd recommend using the rooftops; they're usually deserted around this time of the day and that's where most of the others that travel by portkey leave from."

The blood drained from Harry's face the moment he heard the word portkey leave Fuji's mouth. He felt a knot form in his stomach the moment he heard him state that the area behind the ball shed was in clear view of the windows. And he thought his heart might leap out of his throat when Fuji admitted to seeing him leave since it meant that others might have seen him as well. In his growing panic, it didn't occur to him to wonder _how_ Fuji had recognized the method he had been using to leave the grounds or pick up on the fact that there were others who _left_ the school rooftops using portkeys.

"I must say you completely surprised me, Evans-kun. I had not even suspected that you were a wizard until after I saw you disappear from the grounds. Even then, I wasn't certain until I spent some time observing you and saw you taking potions with your lunch. Knowing what I do now, it's no real surprise that you could easily stom…"

It was the word wizard that set Harry's ears to ringing enough that it blocked out the rest of the senior's words. The only thing running through his mind at that point was the fact that no one was supposed to know about his magic because he was still scared that someone would recognize him and send him back to England or that Dumbledore might somehow learn he still had magic and come looking for him. Sure, Master Watanabe had assured him that no one would send him back to England but that didn't mean that people wouldn't come looking for him and drag him away.

The British were surely missing their precious Boy-Who-Lived by now; that is, if they bothered to check up on him (due to their belief that he'd lost his magic) to find him gone yet.

Fuji cut himself off mid-sentence the moment he noticed Harry's growing panic. Thinking that Harry was panicking over a breach in the Statute of Secrecy (something that was punished severely by the Council of Wizards and Witches unless there were extenuating circumstances), Fuji was quick to add, "You don't have to panic; you didn't break any laws. I am a wizard as well; my father's side of the family is magical."

That statement broke through the haze of panic in the one-eyed boy's mind and Harry sucked in a sharp breath as he took a step backwards while his eyes automatically flew to Fuji's hands; the pre-teen half expecting to see the teen holding his wand. He felt completely helpless being faced with an armed wizard while he himself was without a wand and therefore without a way to protect himself from magic.

"I'm not going to attack you; if that's what you're worried about," Fuji offered as he held his hands out with his palms facing upwards to prove he was unarmed. "I only wanted to warn you that the place you'd chosen to leave from was not as secure as you thought it was. I also didn't think you were aware of the usual portkey points around the school since you are not originally from around here and I didn't see you in the orientation that all magicals are required to attend two days before term starts for the guided tour of safe points and to be introduced to the other magicals attending Seigaku."

That caught Harry's attention and he immediately sat down on the ground and buried his head in his hands. He vaguely recalled Master Watanabe mentioning that there were likely to be other magicals attending Seishun Gakuen but he hadn't really given much thought to exactly what that meant. He also hadn't expected to actually bump into another underage wizard while on campus, let alone have one seek him out. Part of him had hoped that he wouldn't actually run into any other magicals since he couldn't actually defend himself from them right now.

"I don't have any Calming Draughts on me right now but I do know how to cast a Calming Charm; if you'd allow me to help you."

Harry adamantly shook his head no as he snapped his head up to keep his left eye on the teen. He hadn't really liked it when Master Watanabe had used the calming spell on him and he didn't really want anyone else casting spells at or on him either.

"Do you think you can calm down on your own then? It would be really bad if you had an outburst of accidental magic out in the open. There're still a lot of rumors and speculation going around about who was responsible for the huge outburst last month since it knocked the power out…" Fuji started to state before he cut himself off a second time and fully opened his eyes as he studied Harry rather intently. "That was you last month. You were pulled out of school the same day as the outburst occurred and you'd been rather out of it that morning."

Harry flinched and inched backwards a bit more. To his surprise, Fuji set his bag down behind him and sat down on the ground where he'd been standing. He then folded his hands together and placed them in his lap where they were clearly visible and no where near anything that could be construed as a weapon.

"I apologize; I did not mean to make you uncomfortable or frighten you. I suppose I probably could have come up with a better way to approach you but I was worried that someone else might see you leaving if I waited much longer once it became clear that you were going to use a portkey to leave campus regularly. I was also rather excited to learn that you were the foreign wizard that my sister had told me I would meet this year when she performed a reading for me during the New Year's Fair at the end of December. I never once thought it might be you since you hid the fact that you were a wizard very well."

"For a while, I thought it might be Echizen but he doesn't have a single drop of magic to his name. When we didn't meet during the Orientation or over the first few weeks of school, I figured that I would meet you during the Tournament Matches and that you would be from a different school but I guess I was wrong about that too. I also spent a lot of time hanging around the hot spots where young magicals tend to gather after school and on weekends but I never saw you there either. It never really occurred to me that you might not know where those places were located since you weren't raised here in Japan."

Harry gradually began relaxing as he listened to Fuji's voice ramble on about various tangents. He also couldn't help but be a little curious about what the teen had meant when he said his sister had warned him about meeting Harry. It almost sounded like she had known that Harry would meet Fuji long before Harry had even set foot in Japan.

When Fuji's voice trailed off, Harry tentatively pulled his whiteboard out of his book bag and scribbled out the following question; _how could your sister know I would be here before I even got on the plane?_

"Neechan is a student of Divination and she has a minor talent with tarot cards; her predictions are scarily accurate. She can also read tea leaves and palms but she prefers the cards."

_I didn't realize it was possible to tell the future with those kinds of tricks. Uncle Vernon always called the people who claimed to see the future frauds. I guess that's not really all that surprising though, Uncle Vernon disliked anyone who was different._

"Is your uncle one of those wizards who believes that being fully human makes you better?"

_No, he'd have an apoplectic fit if you implied he was a wizard. But he'd probably look down on any one who wasn't fully human or who didn't fit his idea of acceptable anyway._

"Were your parents non-magical as well, then?"

Harry shook his head no before he hesitantly explained, _my father was a pureblood, I think, and my mother was a __**muggleborn**__. _

"What was your mother?" Fuji asked in confusion as he glanced at the last word.

_She was a __**muggleborn**__; neither of her parents were magical._

"Oh, she was born to a mundane couple then. Ano, you keep referring to your parents in the past tense…?"

_They're dead,_ Harry wrote out before Fuji could finish his question.

"Gomen, I didn't not mean to bring up such an uncomfortable topic."

_It's fine; I never really knew them because they were killed when I was still a baby._

"I take it you grew up in a mundane household, then? When did you first find out you were a wizard?"

Harry nodded in response to the first question before he reluctantly answered the second with, _on my eleventh birthday when I finally received my invitation to Hogwarts._

"Did you actually attend Hogwarts before you came to Japan?" Fuji inquired with obvious curiosity and Harry gave a single jerky nod in reply. "What was it like to attend an all magical school? Otousan sometimes mentions the European magical schools in passing when he's in town for a visit but he never really goes into any details about them."

_It was different. Living in the castle was… magical, as cheesy as that sounds. We were surrounded by magic; animated suits of armor, moving stairs, enchanted doors, and living portraits. The lessons weren't really all that much different than regular school I suppose and we still had to write essays and takes test, except they were all about magic. The professors were pretty much just like non-magical teachers as well. All in all it was brilliant and Hogwarts was __**home**__. _

"Why did you leave then?" Fuji inquired after he'd finished reading Harry's tiny script.

Harry averted his face to hide the pain in his eyes as he meticulously cleared the whiteboard; his thoughts inevitably circling around his near death and subsequent expulsion. He also debated over whether or not to actually answer the question since he didn't really know Fuji all that well. At the same time, his earlier panic had vanished completely and he'd slowly been warming up to the idea of spending time with another magical; someone with whom he could talk to about magical things like Quidditch and spells and potions, someone he didn't have to hide half of himself from.

There was also the fact that Inui knew Fuji and had always had good things to say about his fellow senior. And Harry had learned to mostly trust Inui over the past few months.

The silence was just starting to grow uncomfortable when Harry finally put his marker to the whiteboard again to write out; _I didn't leave. I was kicked out._

"Why…? If you don't mind me asking, that is. From what otousan had told me about the European schools, it takes a serious offense for them to expel you since they no longer run on an apprenticeship system for underage magicals."

_I made a mistake._

"What kind of mistake could you have possibly made that would have warranted expulsion?"

Harry hesitated before he awkwardly replied; _the kind that got me and my former friends hurt. We thought we were doing the right thing when our head of house wouldn't even hear us out when we told her what was going on._

_We just wanted to stop the thief but found ourselves in over our heads instead. We were actually lucky to have survived at all since the blow to Ron's head could have killed him and the potion that knocked Hermione out could have easily have been a poison that killed her instead. They haven't spoken to me since then._

"And what about you? How serious were your injuries?" Fuji prompted when Harry didn't immediately mention his own injuries.

_I lost an eye and my voice and nearly died._

"We're your two friends expelled as well?"

_No; just me. I was told I was being expelled because I supposedly lost my magic as well but I don't know if that was an intentional lie or just a mistake on their part. Either way, I believed it was true until I learned the truth. _

"Is that why you moved to Japan?"

Harry let out a single rasping laugh that held no amusement and shook his head before he explained; _no, my being here is just happenstance. I'd barely been out of Hogwarts a full day before my aunt began making arrangements to pawn me off on the first person willing to take me off her hands._

The two of them sat in silence for another few minutes before Harry's stomach voiced a complaint about its current state of emptiness. The twelve year old blushed bright red in response when Fuji chuckled at him in response to the gurgling of his stomach.

"Come on, you can join me at my house for supper since I'm the reason you're still here instead of stuffing your face with Momo and Echizen."

Harry hesitated for a few seconds before he acquiesced; the teen practically oozing sincerity and kindness. It only took them a few minutes to gather up their things before they headed for the school entrance together in companionable silence. They'd barely stepped off of the school grounds before a car pulled up in front of the school to stop right in front of them. A split second later, the passenger window rolled down and the woman driving the care leaned closer as she addressed Fuji.

"Oh good, I caught you before you got too far, otouto. Climb on in you two and I'll give you a ride back to the house."

"You can go ahead and take the front passenger seat, Evans," Fuji stated as he opened the back door and started to climb into the car. Harry wasn't quite so trusting and he stood there warily eyeing the woman who resembled Fuji a little while he seriously began rethinking his decision to follow Fuji home.

The woman grew a little sad when he didn't get in right away but she still smiled at Harry as she teased, "I promise I don't bite."

"It's perfectly safe, Evans; this is my oneechan, Fuji Yumiko," Fuji added as he stuck his head up over the door frame from where he was only half inside of the car. "Neechan, meet Evans Harold; he's a member of the Tennis Club and a British born wizard."

"You picked the best day to visit, Evans-kun; otousan sent me a new recipe for an English dessert called treacle tart that I decided to try today when the cards recommended I try something new," Yumiko added coaxingly.

Harry's wariness vanished instantly at the chance to have some treacle tart; it had been almost a year since he'd eaten his favorite dessert. He slid into the car a heartbeat later and set his bags on the floor between his feet before he closed the door and put on the seatbelt. He studiously ignored the siblings when they chuckled in response to his rather sudden change of mind. The ride to the Fuji home was blessedly short as Harry felt a little self-conscious since he couldn't exactly 'talk' to Fuji's sister while she was driving; reading hand signs or a whiteboard were not exactly driver friendly activities.

Once they arrived at the Fuji home, Harry was given a short tour of their house by Fuji while his sister finished supper and set the table. During the tour, Fuji offered up anecdotes about his childhood in addition to providing Harry with a bit more information on key magical spots in and around the immediate area. Fuji even spoke of a hidden Pitch Park where magicals of all ages could go to fly, play pick up broom sports, race, or take flying lessons. The place sounded like paradise for Harry and he desperately wished he could visit the place right that moment.

"Don't tell me you're a broom-head as well," Yumiko complained lightly as they ended the tour in the kitchen with Fuji regaling Harry with a story about a broom race through an obstacle course that he'd participated in a few years earlier.

Harry smiled wistfully as he thought back to how it had felt each time he kicked off the ground before he signed; _I loved flying. In the air I was free. It was just me and my broom dancing with Hedwig or racing the wind._ (Fuji verbalizing his answer for his sister.)

"Boys," Yumiko sighed with a fond smile and a shake of her head. "Did you play any broom sports as well?"

_Quidditch._

"Really? Which position did you play?" Fuji inquired as the three of them sat down to eat.

_Seeker._

"That explains how you easily caught all of the serves that we hit for you the day you tried out for the Tennis Club despite the disadvantage of being half blind. I suppose flying tennis balls would be easy pickings after chasing snitches."

_My team's captain used to throw golf balls for me to catch from the back of his broom. He even charmed some of them to blend into the background in order to make it harder for me to spot them all._

"Sadistic but effective. How many did you miss when you first started?"

_None, I never missed or dropped a single ball; not even when he would have the rest of the team throw a bunch of them at the same time. I never lost a snitch to an opposing seeker either._

"Syusuke, you should take Evans-kun to the Pitch Park and let him loose for a day," Yumiko suggested once Fuji had finished verbalizing Harry's answer.

Harry winced at the suggestion and shook his head no.

"Why not?" Fuji asked with some surprise.

_I don't have a broom anymore._

"You are more than welcome to borrow one of ours or if you prefer, the Pitch Park has broom vendors where you can purchase or rent brooms," Yumiko stated as she shot Harry a knowing look. "You can't tell me you aren't interested; I can see it written all over your face."

_I'll think about it. I'll have to clear it with Healer Kyomoto first, anyway._

"Why is that?" Fuji asked as he lowered his chopsticks back to his plate and turned to study Harry for a moment. "Aside from being exhausted from training earlier, it doesn't appear as if you are suffering from any recent injuries."

_I was grounded until my core stabilizes because the healer was concerned that my magic wouldn't be able to protect me from serious injury if I fell from a fast moving broom or from too great a height,_ Harry replied after a brief hesitation; his eye locked on his plate to hide his discomfort as he signed the words. _She estimated that it will be at least a year before that happens but she won't know for certain until after my next follow up appointment._

The conversation turned to other topics after that much to Harry's relief. He learned much about the Fuji family by the time dessert was served, including the fact that most of their family had an affinity for Potions and Charms. He also learned that their father was an ambassador for the Council of Wizards and Witches and that he was currently based out of France (though he'd also spent time in Spain, Italy, Germany, and Austria). Harry had nearly panicked when he learned that; fearing that the man might tell Dumbledore he was in Japan.

One Calming Draught later and several assurances from the Fuji siblings that their father was no friend of Dumbledore later, Harry apologized for overreacting. Fuji and his sister in turn apologized for scaring him. Harry was then gifted with an entire treacle tart (apparently the cards had warned the witch that she'd need an extra one) and an invitation to visit any time before he got a ride to the Echizens from Yumiko.

Harry was still wondering whether or not it was a smart thing to trust the two siblings when he drifted off to sleep after soaking in the tub for an hour.

* * *

**Translations:** Japanese to English

Arigatou – thank you  
Gakuran – uniform worn by male students  
Gomen – I'm sorry (informal)  
Hai – yes

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**AN:** _Ah, finally! Every time I made time to work on this, something else seem to come up and take my attention away from it. I finally finished reacquainting myself with this story and editing this chapter for posting though and here it is. Sadly, I don't know when I'll get the next chapter out since I'm still writing it. Actually, the next chapter was started over from scratch because I realized this chapter didn't cover everything that needed to be covered now that Harry has learned one of his fellow Tennis Club Members is a wizard like him.  
_

_I'm sure I'll be inundated with tonnes of questions in regards to who else in the club or in the other schools' tennis clubs might be magical but I will not be answering those questions since they will be answered within the story; some of them in the next chapter (which will actually show Fuji's reactions and musings to him learning about Harry's magic). Chapter 18 will then have some actual tennis in it; I know many of you were wondering when I'd get around to covering the Prefectural Matches and other actual matches and now you know; two chapters from now. _

_Anywho, I'll keep a progress report on the next chapter up on my author's page so you'll know how it's coming along and once it is close to finished, I'll add a tentative update date for this fic. Oh, and you can expect to see a few of the older chapters being updating with a few corrections that I made while re-reading/editing this story in prep for getting this chapter cleaned up once I find the motivation to actually re-upload and re-format those chapters. In the mean time, I have to get back to working on Magic Online and Banished Destiny. ~ Jenn_


	17. Acclimatizing a Fellow Wizard

**Disclaimer:** _I used to write out a very specific disclaimer explaining exactly what it is I don't own but I find myself not really interested in doing so as it is very tedious. Suffice it to say I own nothing that was created by anyone else and I am making no money whatsoever from the writing of this FanFiction._

**Warnings:** _Mild to moderate violence, character death, foul language, alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon from both worlds goodbye), angst, drama, and who knows what else. _

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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Chapter Seventeen: Acclimatizing a Fellow Wizard

_Tuesday, June 08, 1993, Evening  
Fuji Household, Tokyo, Japan_

Syusuke released a soft sigh as the door closed behind his sister and their departing guest. He'd not expected to open such a large can of worms when he'd approached Evans to warn him that his chosen portkey departure point was not as secure as he believed it to be. Although, he wasn't completely surprised at how easily Evans had panicked several times after he had approached the younger wizard; the freshman was well known for being rather twitchy. He'd just been a bit surprised by the rather mundane topics that set Evans off; such as his [Syusuke's] father's position as an ambassador.

A frown pulled the corners of Syusuke's mouth down as he returned to the kitchen and began clearing the table.

Now that he thought about it, any mention of magic had sent the younger wizard into a panic at first. Originally, Syusuke had thought that Evans had been worried that he'd broken the Statute of Secrecy but that theory had been debunked the moment Syusuke had revealed that he too was a wizard. Evans had gone white as a sheet with terror and immediately searched for any indication that Syusuke would turn his wand on him. The mere mention that there were other magicals attending Seigaku had had the same affect.

At the time, it had almost been as if Evans was terrified of magic period.

That notion had flown right out the door once Evans had relaxed; the kid's love for magic had shown through once he'd stopped flinching away from the subject. And the wonder on his face as he wrote about Hogwarts had been painfully obvious even when his written words alone had failed to convey his feelings about the school.

He was definitely frightened of the idea of magic being cast _on_ him.

Syusuke's frowned deepened as his thoughts immediately turned to the scars marring Evans's face. If those scars had been caused by magic (and Evans had all but said it had been magic that had ruined his right eye), then it was no wonder that he was wary of other magicals. Syusuke wouldn't want to find himself on the wrong end of a wand if he'd been attacked so viciously by another wizard. Being on the receiving end of such an attack would also explain why Evans had tried to hide the fact that he was a wizard from the rest of the local magical community.

Or it was possible that the green-eyed wizard hadn't wanted to be reminded of all that he'd lost when he'd been expelled.

Syusuke froze over the sink as the word 'expelled' triggered a memory of his father making a passing remark about how Western Magical Academies snapped the wands of those students that they kicked out of their institutions. Taking a slow, measured breath, Syusuke carefully set the pile of dishes he'd been carrying into the sink lest he drop them in a moment of inattention while he was digesting that theory. He then braced himself against the counter as it only just now occurred to him that part of Evans's fear most likely stemmed from the fact that he was completely defenseless.

And Syusuke just _knew_ that the younger boy didn't have a wand.

It was rather obvious now that he thought about. Not once had the freshman made even an aborted attempt to draw a wand on Syusuke during any of his little panic attacks (meaning Evans had been without a wand long enough for him to have lost any reflexive responses to reach for his wand or he hadn't actually had his wand long enough to develop such a response in the first place). Nor had he seen him carrying one with him at any point since the start of the school year; or rather, since Echizen first started dragging his fellow freshman to practice with him.

The lack of a working focus with which to protect himself after he'd been caught in a brutal attack that had cost him an eye and his voice would have been reason enough for him to fear other magicals. That wasn't even touching on the fact that he'd been uprooted from his home and shipped halfway around the world to an unfamiliar land filled with unfamiliar people and their unfamiliar customs. No wonder Evans had been so stressed out and so full of mistrust the moment he'd learned why Syusuke had approached him.

It also explained Evans's excessively reserved behavior since the start of term.

Syusuke's earlier frown returned when he recalled the supposed reason for Evans's expulsion from Hogwarts. It hadn't been because he'd broken any rules or even that he'd led other students into a dangerous situation. No, he'd been expelled because he had 'lost his magic'. The teen knew full well that it wasn't possible to strip a wizard of his magic without killing him; their magic lived in their very blood, after all. Though, it was possible for a wizard to have his magic bound.

Did that mean that someone had bound Evans' magic in order to get him kicked out of Hogwarts? Or had they bound his magic as punishment for breaking rules and getting other students hurt?

Syusuke's lips curled up in disgust in response to the direction his thoughts had turned. Binding a person's magical core was both brutal and barbaric. It was also the harshest of punishment short of death that was usually reserved for the worst kinds of criminals. To use such a punishment on a _child_ was wrong on so many levels.

The teen calmed down a moment later when he recalled that he didn't really know the circumstances under which Evans had had his core bound. It was also entirely possible that the person that had attacked him had been the one to bind his core. Actually, now that he thought about it, Syusuke didn't really know much at all about what had happened to the younger wizard; it wasn't like Evans had offered up any details. So, he couldn't really say for certain if Evans had had his core bound at all or if there had been some other reason he'd supposedly 'lost his magic'.

That line of thinking soon had Syusuke wondering why Evans was so scared of Dumbledore.

Was it simply because Dumbledore was the one that had expelled him from Hogwarts? Or was there more to it than that?

And just who was it that had attacked the younger wizard right under Dumbledore's nose? Syusuke couldn't count the number of times that his father had called Hogwarts Dumbledore's stronghold due to how long the British wizard had held the headmaster's position at the ancient school. It made no sense for someone to go after a student in Dumbledore's care when there would have been a high chance that Dumbledore would have caught them in the act or immediately after the fact before they could escape.

Those thoughts had barely passed through Syusuke's mind before he recalled a comment that Kikumaru had made in passing not long after Kawano's gang had put Evans in the hospital about Evans being kidnapped by the members of a so-called 'satanic cult'. Knowing what he did now about Evans's status as a wizard, Syusuke easily deduced that the 'satanic cult' was actually a group of wizards. And in light of the fact that Evans originated from Great Britain, he'd be willing to bet that the members of the 'cult' in question that had kidnapped him had actually been Death Eaters.

The fact that there'd been no breakouts announced from Azkaban at any point since Voldemort had been vanquished back in 'eighty-one most likely meant that those potential Death Eaters had most likely been sympathizers that had never been caught or individuals that had been acquitted for some reason or another.

If that were true, then there must be some reason for them to target Evans.

As he silently reviewed what he'd been taught about the British Blood War (the name most of the world had assigned to Voldemort's relatively short, if fierce, reign of terror), it didn't take Syusuke long to realize that Evans Harold was actually Harry James Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. Syusuke knew there was a chance he could be wrong but he was fairly certain that he was correct. The mute freshman was the correct age, matched the known description of the boy-hero, had been born and raised in Britain, attended Hogwarts for a year, and most telling, shared a similar given name.

Harry was a popular nickname for Harold, after all.

There was also the fact that Evans was the maiden name of Harry Potter's mother; the history of the Potters had been covered in considerable detail in conjunction with the British Blood War. Syusuke hadn't thought to link that little tidbit to Evans until now though; mostly due to the fact that he'd not had any inkling that Evans was a wizard until the first time he'd seen him portkey off campus.

Even if he was to disregard those clues, the fact that Death Eaters had targeted the freshman the moment he returned to the wizarding world to start his magical education was enough to unmask Evans's real identity; what other child would be of any interest to the Death Eaters? It had been Harry Potter who had been given credit for defeating Voldemort in nineteen-eighty-one, after all. Well, by the British, at least. The rest of the world was more than a little skeptical that a toddler could have done anything to defeat a powerful dark wizard.

That skepticism certainly hadn't prevented the British from awarding the then infant Potter celebrity status though.

Syusuke briefly tried to imagine what it must be like to be considered a celebrity before he could walk only to wince when he thought about the attention he'd garnered due to his status as a tennis prodigy. He could easily imagine how hard it must be for Evans to live beneath the weight of such a heavy burden; that would have been especially true while he was still living in England. The fact that Evans was so humble and introverted given the amount of fame that was attached to the legend of the 'Boy-Who-Lived' was rather surprising.

Even more surprising though was the fact that _Harry Potter_ had been _expelled_ from Hogwarts. Let alone that the British magicals had allowed their precious idol be shipped halfway around the world.

You'd think that the British would have gone out of their way to 'fix' Evans after he'd been injured.

Unless Evans (Syusuke had trouble thinking of the younger boy as Potter even though he knew who he really was now) had been relocated for his protection. If that was the case, it would certainly explain the complete media black out that had been placed on Evans; restricting his name and image would make it harder for anyone to track him down. Though, he did wonder why the other wizard hadn't been placed with a magical family for his protection; since the Echizens wouldn't be able to protect him from magical threats.

Of course, it was possible that the Echizens and Evans were distant family. Echizen and Evans did share a small handful of features; such as their small build, messy hair, and athletic talent – the seeker position was universally considered the most difficult position to play due the fact that the seeker had to spot and catch a speeding ball the size of a golf ball while simultaneously monitoring the rest of the players on the field. Not to mention being the most dangerous position to play due to how significant catching the snitch was to the game (which translated into being targeted by the other team).

Syusuke personally disliked playing seeker due to the risks involved. He much preferred the position of beater (mostly due to the slight similarities it shared with tennis – it let him smack a ball about) though he didn't mind playing keeper either.

That said, Syusuke was looking forward to the day when Evans was taken off medical restriction; he really wanted to see how good the younger wizard was on a broom. And Syusuke knew the kid _had_ to be good in order to play seeker on an officially recognized Quidditch team (future pro-players were frequently scouted from all of the European Schools); the European conclaves were notoriously strict regarding the age limits for Quidditch players – even those playing at school level according to what he'd learned from his father. The reason for those limits was mostly due to the risks involved with playing the game and the high number of injuries seen in an average game.

So, for Evans to have had the minimum age rule waved in order to allow him to play for Hogwarts meant that the kid either used his fame to buy into the team or he was a natural on a broom. Based on what he knew of Evans, Syusuke was fairly certain that it was talent that saw Evans being named seeker for his team at age eleven; the kid was no where near arrogant enough to use his fame for unearned privileges. There was also the fact that Evans had not boasted about his seeker skills to make himself seem better than he was; he simply stated facts and downplayed his abilities.

And, of course, Syusuke had seen a glimpse of Evans's talent first hand on the court.

After spending another minute thinking about how much fun he would have when he could get Evans to the Pitch Park so he could see how his own broom skills measured up against Evans (there was nothing Syusuke loved more than the challenge of a friendly competition), Syusuke returned his focus to the puzzle that was Evans. And the silent freshman was still very much a puzzle to the fourteen year old despite how much he'd learned about him that evening; there were still so many questions about the younger wizard that he had no answers to.

He was still just standing in front of the sink trying to unravel the mysteries that surrounded Evans when his sister returned from taking the freshman home. He hadn't even known she was back until the sound of her voice calling his name drew him out of his head.

"Syusuke…"

"Nani, neesan?" Syusuke asked as he glanced at his sister over his shoulder.

"Otouto, you can't confront Evans-kun with the conclusions you've drawn tonight," Yumiko stated the moment he made eye contact with her. "You'll only frighten him if you reveal what you've figured out about him and his past before he's ready to offer up the truth himself."

"Do you know who he is, neesan?"

"Aa, he's a lost kitten stuck out in the cold and you're going to have to work hard and be very patient with him in order to earn his trust if you want him to stick around long enough to make friend out of him."

"You did a reading on him, didn't you?"

"Chigau; you know I never read the cards for others unless I have their permission."

"Oh? Then what do you call all of those times that you read the cards for me without permission?"

"Older sister privileges; I don't need permission from family to watch out for family," Yumiko teased as she moved to clear the rest of the table off since Syusuke hadn't finished cleaning up.

Syusuke let out a soft snort of amusement in response to his sister's teasing before he turned his attention to the dishes in the sink. As he rinsed the food residue off of the dishes with the sprayer while the other side of the sink was filling up with sudsy hot water, Syusuke pondered the warning his sister had just given him about Evans. The analogy she'd used to describe the younger boy was scarily accurate and he'd watched the kid panic numerous times over things that most people would consider trivial during the time they'd spent together.

So, it wasn't all that hard to reach the conclusion that bringing up more sensitive topics would send Evans running for the hills (figuratively speaking or possibly quite literally, if he felt threatened enough).

That meant that Syusuke was going to have to temper his desire to unravel the mysteries surrounding his kohai with a little patience. He'd also have to learn to navigate the minefield that was Evans's insecurities in order to get to know the younger boy better without his efforts blowing up in his face due to a single misstep. It wouldn't be easy to earn Evans's trust (above and beyond the thin veneer of trust he'd shown by accepting the invitation to supper) but Syusuke suspected it would be well worth the effort.

And not just because he loved a good challenge.

"Syusuke," Yumiko called as Syusuke grabbed the sponge and prepared to start scrubbing the dishes.

"Nani…?"

"Just treat Evans-kun the same way that you treat Yuuta; as a little brother.

"I'm not sure that'll work, neesan; Yuuta isn't exactly happy to have me as an older brother right now."

"Yuuta will come around eventually; he still loves you even if he refuses to acknowledge it. Besides, we're discussing Evans-kun, not our moody little brother and Evans-kun has no fear of getting caught up in your shadow. So, you don't have to be afraid that he'll grow to resent you if you take the initiative to step forward as a mentor of sorts until he feels confident enough to stand on his own."

"I'll try to keep that in mind, neesan," Syusuke promised with a pained smile that held an edge of wistfulness to it as he recalled just how far his little brother had gone to escape his [Syusuke's] shadow.

* * *

_Wednesday, June 09, 1993, Morning  
Seishun Gakuen, Tokyo, Japan_

Harry held back a yawn as he trotted through the school gate half a step behind Ryoma. He'd had a rather rough night last night due to his worries about Fuji finding out he was a wizard following him into his dreams. He hadn't had any nightmares, per se, but his dreams had been more than a little uneasy due to how torn he felt about the fact that Fuji (and his sister) both knew he was a wizard. On one hand, it had been rather nice to talk to another wizard that was around his age. On the other hand though, he was more than a little scared that Fuji would oust him as a wizard to other magicals.

And he wasn't naïve enough to think all underage magicals were nice; he'd crossed paths with far too many bullies during his only year at Hogwarts.

It wouldn't matter if he still had his wand but the two halves of his holly wand were useless to him. Sure, he could try and use Hagrid's little cheat of sticking the pieces into an umbrella handle but that technique wasn't exactly what one could call reliable. Even if he did try something so outlandish, it would be rather weird to carry around an umbrella all the time and an umbrella was far harder to hide on your person than a wand. That wasn't even taking into consideration the questionable legality of doing such a thing.

The last thing that stopped Harry from even trying to cobble together a makeshift focus using his broken wand was the fact that he was basically banned from using his magic until Healer Kyomoto cleared him due to his magical core being unstable at the moment. His messed up core was another reason for him to avoid dangerous situations; since another large scale outburst of accidental magic on his end could damage his core. And being ganged up on by a bunch of other magicals was just asking for trouble.

Harry slowed to a stop just outside of the club room and stared at the ground without seeing it for several seconds before he twisted around to stare out over the tennis courts as if searching for answers in the glinting dew drops that clung to everything. When he didn't find what he was looking for on the courts, Harry closed his eyes and tipped his head backwards as he focused inwards in an attempt to settle his nerves. He would be interrupted just a few seconds later by the quiet crunching of footsteps walking up to the club room from his left side.

Letting out a soft sigh, Harry reluctantly opened his eyes and turned to see who had just arrived. He wasn't really surprised when his gaze landed on Fuji; it was just his luck that he'd run into the senior while he was still feeling so conflicted by the knowledge that Fuji was a wizard that had recognized him as a fellow magical.

"Ohayou, Evans-kun," Fuji cheerfully called in greeting as he offered Harry a warm smile. Harry hesitated for a moment before he returned the greeting with a semi-wary wave. Fuji's smile dimmed a bit as a result of Harry's rather lukewarm response but otherwise seemed unaffected by Harry's lack of enthusiasm as he suggested, "We should probably head inside and get ready before we're late for practice."

Harry started over the abrupt reminder of what he was supposed to be doing right that minute and he felt his cheeks warm up with embarrassment (he had just been caught daydreaming by the older boy) as he nodded in agreement and hurriedly opened the door to the club room. Once inside of the room, he held the door open long enough for Fuji to enter in his wake before he crossed the room to put his things away inside of his assigned cubby. He headed right back out just a couple of seconds later since he didn't need to change because he always wore his practice clothes to school and changed into his uniform after morning practice.

As soon as he stepped back outside, Harry was snagged by a passing junior and roped into helping set up the nets for the day. Harry didn't actually mind the chore since it gave him something to focus on other than his insecurities. Sadly, the distraction didn't last for long since it didn't take more than ten minutes to set up the nets due to how many people had been drafted to help. After that, it was time to warm up and run through the usual morning training. Harry felt more than a little unsettled when Fuji would pop up behind him every now and then to offer praise or advice.

Having Fuji's attention on him like that was weird. Normally, it was Inui who offered him training advice or it was Oishi who corrected him when he made a mistake during the normal drills. That's not to say everyone else ignored him; they just didn't go out of their way to interact with him during practice unless they were working with him directly. Up until that morning, the same could have been said of Fuji. Only now, Fuji was paying far more attention to Harry than he used to and he was going out of his way to encourage the younger wizard.

His behavior actually baffled Harry and the oddness of Fuji's behavior left him twitchier than a squirrel on caffeine.

By the time practice ended that morning, Harry was practically a complete wreck due to his sleepless night and the added stress of not knowing why Fuji was paying him so much attention all of a sudden (well, aside from the fact that the older boy knew he was a wizard now). On top of that, his twitchiness had drawn even more attention to him from the rest of the club and the constant feel of everyone's eyes on him had made him itch all over. He knew he should be used to such attention by now but he just couldn't stand it; he hated being watched by large groups of people.

After making a half-hearted attempt to let go of his fear and discomfort once they'd been dismissed, Harry rushed to change into his uniform so that he wouldn't be late for class. He'd just finished tucking his shirts into his trousers and was reaching for his uniform jacket when Horio loudly asked him a couple of questions that made him freeze in place.

"Ne, Evans; how can you stand to wear long-sleeved turtlenecks as undershirts all day long, every day when it's been so hot lately? Wouldn't it be better for you to stop wearing them all of the time now that it's almost summer? If you don't, what's to stop you from overheating during practice?"

Harry let his hand drop as he glanced towards his overly loud classmate before he let his gaze sweep over the rest of the freshmen that were currently in the room getting ready for class; the mute wizard easily noting the expectant looks on everyone's faces. He then very deliberately picked up his jacket and slipped it on but left it unbuttoned before he grabbed his things and left the club room without bothering to reply to Horio. As soon as he stepped outside, Harry pulled the door shut behind him hard enough to rattle the clubhouse's windows in his annoyance.

He immediately stalked away (purposefully moving to take the long way around to the main building because he didn't want any of the others to catch up to him and pester him a second time) as he swung his book bag and tennis bag over his shoulder while he silently ranted about nosy classmates sticking their noses into things that were none of their business. He'd barely taken a dozen steps before he heard a familiar voice call his name. Harry considered ignoring Fuji as he continued walking for another five steps before he grudgingly stopped when the senior called out to him a second time.

"Evans! Chotto matte!"

Letting out a silent huff, Harry stopped in his tracks and waited for the teen to catch up to him; though he pointedly did not turn around to face the other boy. He was rather short on patience right now and it was only the manners that his aunt had drilled into his head while he was growing up that had kept him from blowing Fuji off. Well, that and the fact that Harry didn't want to annoy the older wizard off enough that he'd go out of his way to make Harry's life miserable if he felt slighted by Harry's behavior.

"Thanks for waiting," Fuji murmured as he stepped up on Harry's left side.

Harry glanced at the teen from the corner of his eye and gave an awkward shrug and briefly inclined his head to acknowledge the other boy before he began walking once more. Fuji easily kept pace beside him and the two of them headed towards the main building where most of the classrooms were located. They would walk in silence for several minutes (Harry feeling rather tense while Fuji appeared to be unruffled) before the silence was broken by Fuji.

"Do you have any plans for lunch today?"

'_I'm meeting up with Inui-sempai like usual._' Harry signed in reply.

"Oh? Inui is still making you train during your lunch breaks?"

'_Sorta, he mostly just quizzes me on various tennis strategies, regulations, and stuff while we eat._'

"You really are taking your training seriously, ne?"

'_I promised I would._'

"So you did. And you're efforts have paid off from what I've seen. I know your form has improved quite a bit since the first time you attended practice with the rest of the club."

Harry squirmed a little uncomfortably in response to the compliment before he changed the subject and asked, '_Why did you want to know what I was doing for lunch?_'

"I was thinking the lunch break would be a good time to show you a couple of the places we talked about yesterday."

Harry stumbled to a stop and glared at the ground in front of him as he struggled with the conflicting feelings that Fuji inspired in him. The older boy slowed to a stop just a few steps later and turned back to face Harry. The green-eyed pre-teen wracked his brain for an explanation as to _why_ Fuji had suddenly taken such an interest in him. Well, no, that wasn't quite true, he knew why Fuji was interested in him; magic. That still left him scrambling to figure out what the other boy wanted from him.

"Is there something wrong, Evans-kun?"

Harry snapped his head up and pinned Fuji with his lone eye as he harshly signed, '_Why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden? You pretty much ignored me like the rest of the upperclassmen for the most part up right up until yesterday! Or should I say, right up until you found out I was a wizard? Why…? Why would it matter to you if I'm a wizard? What is it that you want from me!?_'

Fuji straightened up and unflinchingly met Harry's gaze head on with his eyes fully open as he replied, "It wasn't that I was ignoring you up until now so much as I was trying to avoid crowding you when it was rather obvious that you were still very uncomfortable interacting with anyone outside of Echizen for the most part. The fact that you share the gift I inherited from my father's side of the family had very little bearing on my interest in you; though it was the catalyst for me approaching you when I did rather than waiting until you'd settled in more like I'd originally planned."

'_That doesn't really tell me what you want from me._'

"Oh? I would have thought you'd have figured that out by now since I thought it was pretty obvious."

'_Well, it wasn't; otherwise I wouldn't have needed to ask._'

Fuji offered Harry another friendly smile as he allowed his eyes to slide shut and answered, "I want for us to be friends, Evans-kun."

That was not the answer that Harry had been expecting. Not by a long shot. He hadn't actually known what to expect from the older boy but it certainly hadn't been claim that he wanted them to be friends. Harry's brow furrowed in confusion as he tried to figure out whether or not Fuji actually meant that the way it sounded because it sounded too good to be true. No one ever wanted to be just friends with him. Even Ron and Hermione hadn't been just friends with him; they'd been friends of the Boy-Who-Lived. After all, they'd cut him out of their lives after he'd 'lost' his magic.

And boy oh boy had the loss of his first two supposed friends ever _hurt_.

It had been the pain of losing Ron and Hermione's friendship that had driven Harry to spurn every offer of friendship that had been sent his way during his first two months in Japan. And he would have gone right on spurning their offers of friendship if it hadn't been for the Well of Healing opening his eyes during the trials he'd experienced while facing all of the negative feelings he'd been bottling up inside. Even now, he wasn't really certain he could call any of the other kids he hung out with his friends; though Ryoma and possibly Inui came closest.

Out of all of his classmates, only Inui had ever implied that they were friends. But that had been back before Harry had realized just how much he still longed for a true friend; back when he still insisted he didn't need friends. So, it was entirely possible that Inui no longer considered Harry a friend. Sure, bespectacled teen still took time out of his busy schedule to train Harry but that didn't mean that he saw Harry as a friend. It was entirely possible that Inui only helped him because he felt obligated due to the fact that he'd been the one to drag Harry into the tennis club in the first place.

And one of the few things he'd always desperately wished for growing up was a friend. He'd all but given up hope of ever finding one before Hagrid had barged into the Hut on the Sea and introduced him to a whole new world where the Dursleys held no sway. Then he'd befriended Ron on the train and later they'd befriended Hermione and he thought one of his greatest wishes had finally been fulfilled. But it hadn't lasted and he'd buried both the pain of losing his only friends and the hope that he'd ever find another long before he set foot in Japan.

Only, Inui had ripped the scab off of that wound the night he'd introduced Harry to Tachibana An as his friend before the poison had been flushed from said wound during his first foray into the Well of Healing and Harry had been left with an aching emptiness where his bonds of friendship with Ron and Hermione used to be. Since then, he'd been far more open to the friendly advances of his classmates but part of him was still hesitant to claim friendship with any of them because he was so afraid of getting burned again.

That didn't stop him from wishing for a friend he could trust not to throw him away at the drop of a hat.

Unknown to Harry, his inner turmoil, ever present apprehension, and desperate longing were poignantly splashed across his face for all the world to see as he stared at up Fuji. When he finally found the wherewithal to respond to the teen's claim, he signed, '_Why? Why would you want to be friends with me? I'm nobody._'

"Chigau, Evans-kun," Fuji countered in a gentle but firm tone as he backtracked to drop his hand on Harry's head (the twelve year old far too conflicted to make an attempt to avoid the contact). "You aren't a nobody; you're my cute little kohai and a proud member of Seigaku's Tennis Club. And that is reason enough for us to be friends."

Harry blinked up at his fellow wizard in surprise even as a faint flush of pleased embarrassment crept up the back of his neck and onto his cheeks. A split second later, he finally registered exactly what Fuji had called him and the flush on his face darkened as he gave Fuji an unimpressed look and flatly signed, '_You did __**not**__ just call me cute._'

"Of course I did, Evans-chan!" Fuji cheerfully retorted as he playfully ruffled Harry's hair before he lightly pinched Harry's left cheek. "You're positively adorable; like a cute little kitten with its fur all fluffed out!"

Harry gaped at Fuji for several seconds in a mix of indignation and disbelief before he let loose a soundless war cry, drew his harisen out of his tennis bag, and launched himself at the senior. Fuji laughed loudly and expertly dodged each swing of the paper fan while Harry chased after him.

"Oi! What are the two of you doing goofing off back here?" Coach Ryuzaki demanded as she stumbled across the two of them less than a minute later. "You're going to be late for class if you don't get a move on!"

Both boys hurriedly apologized to the woman before they took off in the direction of the main building at a dead run; Fuji still laughing while Harry wore a small embarrassed grin. They would reach the building just as the five minute warning bell sounded and as soon as they ducked inside of the building, they split up in order to head to their respective classes. Just before they exited the entrance hall, Harry let out a short, sharp whistle to catch Fuji's attention.

The moment the older boy glanced his way, Harry signed, '_I was excused from joining a committee for the semester and I no longer meet with the counselor three times a week; so I'm free after sixth period and usually just sit in the club room meditating while I wait for the afternoon practice to start._'

"The Year Book Committee only meets up on Tuesdays and Fridays; so, I'll meet you in the club room after class."

Harry waved an acknowledgement before he bolted up the staircase to get to class. He would slip into the room with half a minute to spare; the right corner of his mouth still quirked up in a partial smile as he slung both of his bags across the back of his chair. He made to drop down into his seat at the same time only to be called out by the instructor.

"Evans, you look like a slob; straighten up your uniform and button your jacket!"

Harry blushed bright red (he'd completely forgotten that he'd stormed out of the club room before he'd finished getting dressed) and signed an apology to the teacher before he hastily put his uniform to rights. Once he was done, he dropped down into his chair and dug out his class materials as the instructor began the day's lesson. He soon got caught up in his school work as he concentrated on listing to various lectures, taking notes, reading the accompanying chapters, filling out an assortment of worksheets, and deflecting the occasional question and before he knew, classes were over for the day.

It was with equal amounts of dread and anticipation that Harry made his way back to the club room; his feet alternately dragging his heels and hurrying him along in turns as he tried to decide if he'd made the correct choice in trusting Fuji in light of his conflicted feelings. All too soon he was walking up to the club room where he found Fuji casually propped up against the wall beside the door waiting for him. Harry slowed to a stop right in front of the teen and stared up at him for a long minute before he finally signed him a somewhat bashful greeting.

'_Sempai._'

"Ka~wai~i," Fuji teasingly chanted before he flashed a friendly smirk at Harry and Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes at the teen in response. Fuji snickered a couple of times before he asked, "Did you want to drop your things off inside before I give you a quick and dirty tour of the key locations or are you going to bring them with you?"

Harry thought about it for a few seconds before he pointed to the club room door to indicate that he was going to put his things inside. Fuji nodded and indicated that he'd wait outside for him and Harry slipped inside. Just before he headed back outside, he took a moment to grab his whiteboard and marker in case he needed them since there were still times when it was easier to write out his answers than it was to use sign language. The moment he stepped back through the door, Fuji pushed away from the wall and began leading Harry towards the school library.

Instead of taking him through the front door though, Fuji led him around to the back of the building where he stopped in front of a pair of doors. The door on the left was your typical fire escape that was painted red and clearly labeled as an emergency exit with an additional warning that the door was alarmed. The door on the right though, was painted a simple gray and had a sign with the words 'Restricted Access' bolted to the door below which sat the words; Seigaku's Student Library – Magical Annex.

"The doors that lead to the magical areas around the school are charmed so that non-magicals will only see the Restricted Access signs in addition to mild aversion wards in order to discourage them from trying to sneak inside," Fuji explained as he opened the library door and ushered Harry inside. "Most of the doors are located next to the fire exits; the only exceptions are the Dueling Chamber which is located in the school's Martial Arts Dojo and the Spell Casting Practice Rooms which can be only accessed through Coach Okada's office in the sports building."

"The Dueling Chamber is mostly used by the Dueling Club but you don't have to be part of the club to duel during non-club hours. Yamasaki-sensei, the wizard who runs the Dueling Club, hardly ever leaves the Chamber and he's usually quite willing to referee duels for anyone that wants to duel. Use of the Practice Rooms, however, is by reservation only and you can reserve the room for a half an hour at a time for up to an hour a day, three days a week. You can sign up for practice time through Okada-sensei or Hasegawa-sensei."

'_Ano, just how many magicals work or go to school here?_' Harry inquired with more than a little trepidation over learning that there were adults wizards that worked at the school.

"There're only five magicals on the staff at Seigaku; Kanzaki Shinju who works in administration, Fujimoto Masao who is the on-site healer, Okada Atsushi who is in charge of the Magical Sports Department, Yamasaki Daisuki who teaches Aikido and runs the Dueling Club, and Hasegawa Maiko who teaches World History and runs the Culture Club. The number of magical students attending Seigaku varies from year to year; this year, there are only twenty-seven magical students, including both of us, while last year there were forty-three."

Harry felt slightly relieved to learn that there were so few magicals running around the school but at the same time he was rather confused that the number of magical students seemed so small when compared to the total number of students that were enrolled in the school. After spending a few seconds trying and failing to figure out why there weren't more witches and wizards attending Seigaku, Harry asked, '_Why are there so few magical students? Is the magical population of Japan really that small?_'

"No, not at all; during the last nationwide consensus done by the Council, the average population distribution was one magical for every five thousand mundanes though the number of magicals that live in each city varies from prefecture to prefecture. Tokyo generally maintains a magical population of around half a million."

'_If that's the case, then why aren't there more magical students here at Seigaku?_'

"Because Seigaku is far from the only school in this district and placement in any given school is typically based on a combination of age, academic achievement, family tradition, personal preference, and residential zoning and as a result, the number of magical students attending each school fluctuates from year to year."

Harry absently nodded in response to the answer while he thought about the differences between Britain and Japan. He would be drawn out of his ruminations just a short while later when Fuji addressed him once more.

"Evans-kun, come on, the library's just down the hall."

'_Ano… just how crowded is the library going to be?_'

"We'll have the entire place to ourselves for the next half an hour since everyone else is attending committee meetings or spending time in either the Dueling Chamber or Practice Rooms."

'_What about the librarian?_'

"There isn't a librarian for this part of the library; the books are cared for by a small family of wild brownies and there are wards on the room to prevent the books from being removed. Are you familiar with brownies?"

'_Yes._'

"Then I should probably warn you that the family that lives in the library is far more sociable than most wild brownies due to the high number of people they've interacted with through the years and they'll probably come out to greet us the moment we step through the door. If you wish to leave them gifts in the future, there's an offering bowl that sits right next to the door and they have a preference for fresh fruits, raw vegetables, bread rolls, cheeses, box juices, patches of brightly colored fabrics (so long as you aren't giving them actual clothes), and sewing notions."

As they entered the library, Harry was rather thankful for the brief heads up or he might have been startled by the sudden appearance of the six colorfully dressed brownies that popped up to greet them before the door closed behind them. Like Kashiwagi, all six beings were roughly two foot tall (two of them were slightly shorter and one was a few inches taller) and had overly large eyes and ears. Those were the only similarities though as the ears of these elves were rather droopy, their tennis ball sized eyes were all different shades of purple, and their noses were wide and flat instead of long and thin.

The rather excitable beings all greeted Fuji with obvious fondness (they'd known the teen for just over two years) before they crowded around Harry to stare at him out of curiosity since he was unfamiliar to them. Harry tolerated the attention since the friendly creatures didn't make any attempts to touch him like they had touched Fuji (they'd hugged the older teen around the knees). As soon as Fuji introduced Harry to the group, the brownies would wander off to go back to what they were doing before the two boys entered the library.

Fuji then gave Harry a brief tour of the library and gave him a quick run down of the rules that had to be followed when using the library. After the tour, Fuji collected a map of the school and the two of them took a seat at one of the tables and spent the next twenty minutes pointing out the various magical areas of the school including the known portkey points, the hidden student lounge that sold magical drinks and snacks, and the hidden recreation room beneath the gym where several magical gaming clubs (such as the Magical Chess, Magical Mahjong, and Gobstones Clubs) held their meetings and tournaments.

Afterwards, the two of them headed back to the tennis courts so they wouldn't be late for practice. As they crossed the school grounds in companionable silence, Harry carefully considered everything Fuji had shared with him. He was in the middle of comparing the differences between the number of students enrolled in Hogwarts and the number of students that were enrolled in Seigaku and the ratio of magicals to non-magicals when it occurred to him that he had no idea who the other twenty-five magical students attending Seigaku were.

He also didn't know if any of them were members of the tennis club or if any of them were assigned to his class group.

They were nearly to the courts when Harry broached the subject with Fuji when he asked, '_You said there were twenty-five more students like us, ne?_'

"Aa."

'_Are any of them in the tennis club?_'

"No, we're the only two wizards currently in the tennis club. There used to be another three magicals in the club but they graduated back in March and are currently attending Seigaku High. There are other magicals attending other schools that are part of their school's tennis clubs though; my otouto, for example, is a member of St. Rudolph's tennis club – he's a regular on their tennis team, so he'll be at the tournament matches this weekend."

Harry briefly wondered why Fuji's brother wasn't attending Seigaku but didn't think that Fuji would appreciate him prying and instead turned his focus back to what he felt was a more pertinent subject as he asked, '_Do you know if any of the other students like us here are freshmen?_'

"Aa, there are three freshmen this year; not including you. I don't believe any of them are in your class group but you've already met one of them."

'_I have?_'

"Aa."

'_Who…?_'

"Osakada Tomoka."

'_Oh, she's one of the girls that are always hanging around Echizen,_' Harry replied as he tried to figure out how he felt about the fact that he'd been unknowingly hanging out with a witch for several weeks now. He blanched a moment later as it occurred to him that she might have figured out that he was a wizard and he turned to face Fuji as he worriedly signed, '_Does she knows about me?_'

"No, I don't believe any one else has figured out that you're a wizard; otherwise one of them would have approached you about it by now."

'_Are you going to tell them?_'

"No."

'_Why not…?_'

"It's not my place and it's quite obvious that you don't want them to know right now; though I'd be more than happy to introduce you to everyone once you're ready to let others know."

Harry eyed the teen for a long minute to gauge his sincerity before he nodded in acceptance and silently thanked him for his silence on the matter. He was no where near ready to announce himself to the world at large; he was far too scared of being recognized and more than a little paranoid about being shipped back to England or potentially being attacked while he was unable to defend himself. He also had no desire to put himself in the spotlight any more so than he already was.

Nothing further would be said on the subject of magic after that as the two of them headed into the club room in order to change out for practice. The rest of the tennis club would trickle into the courts over the course of the next ten minutes and the two wizards split up to warm up. The rest of the afternoon would fly by in the blink of an eye as Harry fell into the familiar training routine he'd been following for weeks now. And once again Fuji took the time to offer him praise and advice throughout the practice; though this time the older boy's attention didn't spook him nearly as much.

Thursday would play out much the same way with Harry skipping out on his afternoon meditation to hang out with Fuji in the magical annex of the school's library where Fuji went through last year's yearbook and showed Harry photos of the current magical students that were in their junior or senior year (photos of the freshmen not available).

* * *

**Translations:** Japanese to English

Aa – yes  
Ano – um/uh/er  
Chigau – can be used to mean wrong, no, or to differ  
Chotto matte – wait a minute!  
Kawaii – cute  
Nani – what  
Oneesan/neesan – older sister  
Ohayou – good morning (informal)  
Otouto – little brother

**Notes:**

Seigaku Magicals – Now, I'm certain that many of you are wondering why I didn't have there be more magicals in the tennis club and there are many reasons for that; the biggest one was that I didn't want to fall into the trap that I've seen so many authors fall into when writing this particular crossover where they make ALL of the PoT characters wizards. So, I knew going in that I was going to limit the number of magical tennis players.

The reason why I chose Fuji's family to be magical was strictly because of his sister's prowess with tarot cards in the series. There were also canon reasons for me not making certain characters magical; such as Tezuka's elbow injury (since magic could have been used to heal it and therefore negated a big chunk of his personal history). I toyed with the idea of making Inui either a magical or a squib (Inui Juice anyone…?) but eventually decided against it since he's so scientifically and data minded.

As for the rest of the regulars and the other members of the freshman cheering squad, I really couldn't find a reason to make them magical. Although I nearly made Kikumaru and Horio wizards but eventually decided against it. I nearly didn't make Tomoka a witch either but I didn't want Harry to be the sole magical freshman at Seigaku and since I'd already vetoed Horio (he's too much of a bragger to keep magic quiet) I was rather limited in choices because I'd already established Coach Ryuzaki as non-magical (she didn't recognize Harry's magic a few chaps back) and picking between Kato and Mizuno was impossible because they appear to be rather close in the series.

There will be other magicals players from other schools (as mentioned in the story) and I've already picked and chosen who will be magical and who will not; so please don't send me suggestions or demands – they will be ignored. Some of them will even be reoccurring characters in the series and some won't. There will even be additional OCs that I've created to flesh out the PoT world. If that annoys you, feel free to stop reading at any time.

* * *

**AN:** _Wow, this chapter was a really long time in coming and it isn't even the original chapter seventeen that I had planned. That chapter was actually bumped down to chapter nineteen so I could add this chapter and the next. I never intended for it to take me so long to get this chapter finished but Fuji was rather difficult for me to write. This entire chapter was originally supposed to be entirely from Fuji's PoV but the small section I gave him was hard enough for me to write. Once I gave up trying to write Fuji's PoV, the story just flowed from my fingertips and here we are. _

_Anyway, there was a bit of info in the chapter, a bit of deductive reasoning (on Fuji's part), and a bit of fluff in the interactions between Harry and his sempai. Next chapters pretty much going to be nothing but fluff as well and I might still cut it out and post it as an omake once the story is finished - it just depends on how much of an issue it's going to give me when it comes to writing it. On a side note, I've also done a bit of editing to the first sixteen chapters and will be replacing them off and on throughout the next week; so expect to get notifications for previous chapters.  
_

_At least I think they give updates for that... if not, well, you're not really missing out on much since I mostly just corrected my mistakes and smoothed out a few rough patches. Next chapter should be up sometime next year. As always, I'll keep a running word count on my author's page. For those of you looking for the next chapter of An Epic Adventure, I'm afraid it's been delayed to a continuity error that I made while I was sick and I need to re-write several parts of it before I can post it but I'm working on that as well as a few other things. I'll scheduled an update date once I get it fixed. ~ Jenn_


End file.
